Bone To Ash
by SilverTigerdirector
Summary: Po is going insane. Literally. And it's all thanks to the arrival of a new foe. Tigress tries to keep Po grounded to his mind, but is failing fast. Will the admission of her feelings for him help? Rated M for language, gore & later sexuality.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1/Burn My Body

25th of February. 5pm. Valley of Peace. Dragon Warrior Noodles.

After a long day of serving what must have been hundreds if not a thousand customers that Saturday, Mr. Ping decided to accept Master Shifu's offer to play him in a game of Weiqi, since the old goose kept beating him at Mahjong anyway. The game started off very well for Mr. Ping, but eventually Master Shifu began to overcome him. Master Shifu chuckled as he sat there waiting for Mr. Ping to make his next move. He looked off into the distance as he saw Zeng flying to the Palace. And a few minutes later, he saw Crane carrying Viper on his back. No doubt they were being informed of a small mission since they weren't bringing Monkey.

Master Shifu had more or less given his students the day off unless problems should arise. Mantis had decided to travel to the Pool of Sacred Tears to see if he could surpass his precision expertise by trying to bury his acupuncture needles into the crevaces of the surrounding rocks. Monkey went to the new restaurant that opened up to take advantage of the buffet. Tigress had decided to meditate at the Sacred Peach Tree and train in the training hall, of course. And Po decided to go wherever Tigress went, much to her aggravation. Shifu had begun to notice certain odd mannerisms about Po that were out of the ordinary for the panda, but it was only whenever he was around his daughter.

Like just the other day Po and Tigress were in a sparring match and amazingly enough Po was keeping up. He had had Tigress on the defensive and when he took out her guarding arms, he went to strike. But it never happened. Tigress' arms were momentarily numb from the jabs Po had put into her shoulders, and she was left wide open. Po was about to land a strike at her chest, but stopped himself. Tigress quickly recovered, grabbed Po's arm and taught him a fitting punishment to those who hesitate during battle. But Po wasn't feeling bad about losing the match. Though his face gave him a look of confliction when he left the training hall...

The red panda turned to look at the board again, then saw a smile on the old goose's face. It made Master Shifu feel somewhat nervous. He studied the board to see what exactly Mr. Ping had done. The master groaned and facepalmed after realizing that Mr. Ping had his best defenses countered and captured his primary offensive.

The goose let out a soft laugh,"Well that was a good game. Do you wish to play again?"

"Well it would be nice but I really should get back to the Jade Palace. Po should have dinner ready fairly soon."

"Oh, what's the rush? I can cook you up some dinner on the house!"

"Well it would make up for the fact of you beating me, I suppose.", chuckled Shifu.

"And the next game I beat you at too!", called back Mr. Ping as he waddled into the kitchen and started to make Shifu and himself some soup.

Shifu walked to the front counter and sat down to watch. It was always nice to see how Po got to learn the precision and timing of Kung Fu when he was a child without even really knowing it was Kung Fu that helped him to do so.

"So did she say yes?", asked the goose as he chopped the vegatables.

Shifu blinked and gave Mr. Ping an odd look."Who? To what?"

"Master Tigress, of course! Po surely asked for your blessings to take your daughter out on a date, did he not?", he chuckled a few of his words.

Master Shifu's ears twitched. So _that _was it. And he thought back, had Po actually asked him for his blessings? No doubt that, though Po was not the most refined young man, he still had enough respect to ask him for his permission on such matters. Shifu facepalmed again and groaned as he remembered on three seperate occassions when Po had asked a private audience with him and Master Shifu had to interuppt the panda every time for various reasons.

Mr. Ping looked at Master Shifu nervously."So he did not ask?"

Master Shifu shook his head and sighed,"No, no, he tried though. Things always came up."

"Well may I ask if you approve of my son?", he asked as he began to make the noodles with surprising speed, not even looking at them as he twisted them and watched Shifu.

Shifu looked back at him and sighed,"Your son is a...fine young man, Mr. Ping. But I do not know if I wish for him to court my daugter."

"Well, why not? Is he not good enough for Tigress? Or does he need to save China for a third time? Or give you Inner Peace _again_?"

Shifu thought on this as he stared at the countertop."The problem is not within him, Mr. Ping, but within my daughter. She is a hard being. And would likely reject him outright. And I do not wish for your son's heart to be broken."

Mr. Ping slammed his cleaver into the cutting board and began to wag a feathered finger at Shifu,"Now I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Po when he asked me what he should do about his feelings for your daughter. Tigress has _never _acted so happy as she has acted when around Po! She has softened her heart at least a little, and she actually smiles! She cares about my boy and it is clear to see. Tigress promised me that she would take good care of him when they left for Gongmen city, and she did not break that promise."

Master Shifu looked like he was still in contemplation,"And do you approve of my daughter?"

"But of course! She is a wonderful, beautiful and polite young lady! You should be proud to have raised such a good person!", he said while ladling out the soup."And she is the love of my son's heart! And I only want to see him happy.", he set a bowl of noodle soup infront of the master and began to eat his own.

Master Shifu's ear twitched at the exact moment Mr. Ping put his wing over his noodle filled mouth."Love? He is in love with her?"

Mr. Ping swallowed his noodles and he shook his head a bit,"Ohhh, he's not going to like that I said that.", when Shifu only stared at him, he sighed,"Yes he is in love with her. He had a crush on her ever since he saw her poster when the Furious Five was formed again, and it according to him it grew into love the more time he spent with her."

"But that was over twelve years ago! He has held these feelings for that long?"

The goose nodded at him with a somewhat sad smile.

Master Shifu sighed,"Well I suppose that there is no harm in it. But I must warn you, Tigress can be very harsh at times."

"What can I say? My son is in love with pain!", he laughed softly as Shifu laughed as well.

Suddenly a scream broke their laughter. Shifu rushed out to the street, followed by Mr. Ping. There was a group of bandits raiding the village. But there was something different about them. They were organized, well organized. Most were wolves, but there was someone in their midst that was commanding them. He was cloaked, and his robe that hid his body and his hood that hid his face kept Shifu from identifying him.

"Mr. Ping! Get back inside!", yelled Shifu. The hooded figure raised his head slightly as he heard Mr. Ping's name. Shifu could then see a beak, with a smile forming over it. He then gave hand signals as he was before, then pointed to Mr. Ping, who had his back turned and was waddling inside back into his restaurant for protection.

Two wolves rushed over to the shop only to be slammed to the ground by Shifu.

"You wish to fight? Then fight. Do not waste your time with these civilians.", he said.

The bird chuckled under it's breath. It's voice was somewhat deep and malicious."My, my, Master Shifu. It is an honor.", he said with a mocking bow.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

The bird stiffened for a moment, and hesitated as he began to reach for his hood, but lowered it nonetheless. It was a peacock.

At first, Shifu thought it might be Shen. The resemblance, though not uncanny, was familiar. But the peacock was not white like Shen. And he was taller and seemed to carry himself with more dignity. His feathers on his body and face were gray, and the feathers on the top of his head were white. He extended out his wings to show that he held no weapons. They were gray as well with black at the ends.

"Who are you?", Shifu repeated as he got into his defensive stance again.

"I am Fuhai, and that is all you need to know...", he opened his tail feathers and spread them out. They were white with black splotches all over. It was the most unsettling pattern Shifu had ever seen. Shifu flinched and backed away slightly. The peacock smiled as his trick worked again without fail, he studied the red panda thoroughly"Ah I see. You are conflicted with a problem in your life. It is...very personal. And apprehention. You wish the matter was settled, yet you see no solution. A rare thing for one with Inner Peace. Hmmm.", his smile grew wider."You are about to give your daughter away to a man that you think you can trust. Well do not. He is a murderer.", Fuhai spat.

"How do you know these things?", Shifu asked.

"Ah questions, questions, questions. They are meaningless, yet neccisary if one wants to seek answers.", the peakcock said as he waltzed slowly over to the master."But you see in your case they are meaningless, for answers are something that I do not give.", he smirked while staring down at Master Shifu.

Just then Po and Tigress came running down the street.

"Master, what's happening, who-", Tigress stopped as she saw the peacock and froze in her place. Po stopped beside her, but got into a defensive stance as he got infront of her slightly.

"Who are you?", he said in a deadly serious voice. Shifu could tell that Po recognised the fact that Fuhai looked a little like Shen, aside from the fact that he was a peacock.

"I am Fuhai. But you may call me the one who tore your sanity away from you...", he replied, his voice slowing like a music box that was ending it's winde as he stared menacingly at the panda twenty feet away from him.

Po began to lunge at the peacock, but as he closed the gap by half the peacock wagged a feather finger,"Ah, ah, ah.", he said teasingly."Attack me and your father will die."

Po looked to his left and his eyes widened. There was a wolf in the doorway of the noodle shop holding Mr. Ping by the throat with a large knife pressed against it.

"Dad!", he started to step forward but the wolf held up the knife a little more threateningly to the goose's throat.

"Now now, it wouldn't be a hostage situation if just anybody could get imbetween the kidnapper and his prey.", the peacock chuckled.

Po balled his paws into fists."What do you want with me?"

"With you? Oh, that's quite simple.", he replied while walking over to the panda he began to whisper when he got so close to Po so that the only ones who could hear him were Po, Master Shifu, and Monkey. Monkey had finally arrived as he had just beaten down nearly a dozen wolves before he arrived at the scene and stood just a few feet away."I want to take everything from you, Dragon Warrior. Everything you care about, all the people you love...", he trailed off to nod slightly over Po's shoulder where Tigress stood. She looked confused as she had gotten into a defensive stance while trying to listen into the conversation."I want to see you suffer until you beg for death by my hand.", he whispered venomously into Po's face."You murdered my nephew in cold blood. And you. Will. Pay.", he rose his voice slightly more and more as he spoke the last few words and got closer and closer to the panda, meeting him eye to eye with a glare before turning around and walking off, dozens of wolves now imbetween Po and the peacock as Fuhai called over his shoulder in a deadpan tone,"Rub him out."

Po turned his head to the left again as the wolf that held Mr. Ping, his father, slashed the goose's throat and dropped him before running off. Po screamed,"DAD!"

Po ran over to the bleeding goose and cried,"Dad, dad, please hold on!"

Mr. Ping was shaking and gasping as the blood left his body without hesitation. He spoke weakly,"Di...did you ask her, son?"

Po sniffled and shook his head as he whispered. Shifu had knelt down beside Mr. Ping and Po as Tigress stood behind the panda. Monkey was busy beating down the wolves that were too slow to escape the primate's wrath to avenge his best friend's father."No dad. But I-I will. I promise."

Mr. Ping smiled and nodded."Good. I only want you to be happy, son.", he looked over Po's shoulder and saw Tigress, who had her ears flattened against her head. She had tears in her eyes and was looking at Po until the goose spoke to her,"Take care of my boy. I would have been proud to have called you...daughter one...day..", Tigress let her tears loose, but she did not sob. She just stood there and nodded.

"I-I will do my best...", she wanted to call him father given the situation. But infront of the one who was her actual father if not biological, whom she had not called father herself, she could not. Nor could she say because of her pride. She was not ready to admit her feelings for Po, and now was not the time to let him know.

Mr. Ping smiled at her and looked at Shifu,"Guess you'll...never beat me...Shifu..."

Master Shifu let out a soft chuckle with tears in his eyes as he nodded,"I suppose not."

He then turned to Po again, who was shaking and doing his best to not run away from watching his father die,"The restaurant is yours now, son. Do with it...what you wish.", he coughed up a little blood and gasped wheezily,"I love you...Po..."

Po was openly weeping now as he hugged his father close to his body and sobbed,"I love you too, dad..."

Po held his father and stayed with him as Mr. Ping's blood leaked onto his son's fur until Po could no longer feel a heartbeat against his chest. Po laid Mr. Ping down and started to breath heavily as the fact now sunk in. It was now official. His father was dead.

Po stood up. He was shaking all over as tears continued to fall. He was panting. His voice was cracked and wavey,"Peacocks. The damn peacocks! My life is ruined because of those assholes!", he roared and snapped his head to the right to see the peacock perched on a far off tree relishing the sight of the weeping panda. When Po met his gray eyes with his jade ones, the peacock flew off. Po immediately ran in his direction at full speed.

Tigress watched Po, a look of shock on her face. She looked at Shifu, who had just closed Mr. Ping's lifeless eyes and was staring down at him solemnly. He nodded over his shoulder and muttered,"What are you waiting for? Go get him.", Tigress nodded slightly and ran after Po.

Po was in a rage. Nothing could calm him down. When he caught that peacock, if he had to follow him across China, he wasn't going to stop until that peacock landed. He was going to kill him. He wanted a murderer? Well he was going to get one!

Po ran through the forests with surprising speed and agility. He ran up a steep hill, but it did not slow him down. When he reached the top, he was now only twenty feet or so under the peacock. he jumped up onto the branch of a tree and jumped from it to slash at the bird, who quickly turned around and kicked him in the face, sending him flying to the ground at the edge of the cliff where the tree stood. Po grunted as he hit the ground.

Tigress had finally caught up with him when she saw Po land and ran towards him. But he got up, backed up and started to tun towards the cliff, apparently he wanted to attempt the hundred foot jump to the other side of the canyon. Tigress grabbed Po by the scruff of the neck just before his foot reached the cliff and slammed his back into the tree. He struggled and growled.

"LET ME GO! I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

Tigress growled back,"Are you insane? That's a hundred foot gap!", she yelled.

"I don't care! I'm going to rip his lungs out and feed them to his wolves!", he yelled back, his voice was cracked again.

"Po stop it, this isn't going to do you any good you'll just get yourself killed-!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Tigress growled loudly and slammed him into the tree again,"You don't care? You don't care if you die?", she shouted.

"No! I dont care...!", he sobbed,"I want to die...", he stopped struggling. Tigress pulled him into a hug. He hugged back and cried into her shoulder.

Tigress sniffled, she was starting to cry again too. She swallowed a lump in her throat,"But if you die, who am I going to protect?"

Po didn't say anything. He just cried more and continued to soak her vest. She didn't care though. She held him and soaked his fur with the tears that dropped from her face to his back.

"He was a good man. He always held a kind word for everyone he met. He was charitable and giving. He was a loving father.", she stated as if giving a eulogy just for Po."And he left behind the best thing that's ever happened to me. Please don't take it away...", she almost whispered the last two sentences and hugged him tighter.

Po blushed at her words, but felt anger building inside him. Not at her. But at Fuhai. He remembered what he said. He would take away those he loved. So as much as he hated himself for doing so,he recovered his composure, steadied his breath, broke the hug and looked at her dead in the eyes."You're doing this now? What horrible timing. How dare you?", Po then walked back towards the village to leave a shocked and somewhat heartbroken tiger. It was the best he could do right now. In all honesty he wanted to kiss her just then. But if he was going to keep her from harm, he needed to be as cold as she used to be.

Tigres panted slightly as his words echoed in her mind. His voice sounded dead and cold. She'd heard that tone before in herself. Then realization seeped into her ears and struck her mind. He was trying to hide his feelings for her. Why, she did not know. She could certainly understand. His father just died. But there was something in his voice...it was like a hint of regret. She only used that hint when she was...keeping him away from something. She had that same tone and that same look in her eye when she told him to stay in Gongmen Jail.

Tigress started to follow him back. She knew his feelings for her now, there was no denying it. But she was going to get to the bottom of this one way or another. What was he protecting her from?


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2/Freeze My Heart

That night there was a tension in the air that could not be cut with the Sword of Heroes itself. Per Po's request, they held a small funeral immediately and buried Mr. Ping at the bottom of the hill of the Sacred Peach Tree. Shifu didn't even hesitate to fulfill Po's request, for they had all lost someone dear to their hearts.

A preist conducted the ceremony. It was short as the pig only said a prayer that his soul would find peace and leave no due burdens on the hearts of his family. Then he left. Po, Master Shifu and the Five stood there at the fresh grave weeping. Well most everyone was weeping, even Tigress. But Po only stood there staring at the ground.

"_This is it_.", he thought as he balled his paws into tightly wound fists."_This is my final night of emotion. I make a vow to you, father. I will avenge you. And until that time, I will let nothing cloud my judgment. I will not rest. I will not eat unless necissary. I will not beg my death to that bastard. He will be the one to pay. He murdered you, father. And he threatened the woman that I love. It ends now._"

Po then turned around and walked back to the Palace, leaving the Five and Master Shifu to just stare at him, the tears on their faces not hiding their confusion. Tigress, however, had a look of sadness beyond sadness. She knew his heart before. And whatever it was that was making it cold, she had to put an end to it before the panda went down a road she does not wish him to travel. She laid a white rose on the grave and followed Po's path.

If she wished it, she could smell his scent and easily follow him wherever he went. But there was no need. She knew where he would be. Or...not. Tigress blinked in confusion when she reached the kitchen to find it empty. It didn't make any sense. She sniffed the air for his scent and sighed. How could she be so stupid? With the changes his mind was making, his body would of course soon follow. She walked to the Training Hall.

As she cracked the door open to watch him, Po was currently smashing through the wooden dummies. He wasn't just hitting them, though. He was destroying them. With every hit he would loosen the bars, and with another hit he would shatter the wood with a punch or a kick. She had to admit, his form was amazing. It was like Panda style amped up with a dash of Tiger style to give it ferocity.

She crossed her arms and stopped a few feet away as he had his back to her. She didn't want to startle him, so she decided to say something. But before she could open her mouth, he stopped her.

"What do _you _want?", he snapped, not turning around as he continued to pummel the dummies.

"I wanted to talk to you.", she replied.

"Then talk.", he then did a side flip and slammed his foot up into the underside of a wooden bar, causing it to fly in the air. He caught it and immediately threw it at the Advisary, bursting a hole through it with it's splintered edge. He turned to face her. His eyes were dead again.

"I want to know what it is that the peacock said to you.", she lowered her arms and walked towards him.

He growled softly,"None of your business."

Tigress sighed inwardly. She had made her bed by giving him example of this behavior, now she was going to have to lie in it. And that meant ignoring her pride and not shredding this panda for his mimicing acts.

"Fine. Then spar with me.", she said as she got into her defensive stance.

Po had his back facing her again,"You aren't worth my time.", he walked over to the Iron Rings as he contemplated his next strategy on how to improve.

Tigress' ears flattened and she growled lowly, whether she swallowed her pride or not, that hurt. Especially coming from him."What are you, afraid?"

He faced her again."I fear nothing."

"Then come at me, panda.", she spat. She _really _wanted to spar now.

She barely had time to finish her sentence. Po had lunged at her and threw a punch towards her face. She dodged and countered with a palm to his abdomen, which he blocked and grabbed her paw before twisting it hard. Tigress hissed in pain as he twisted it behind her back and she kicked him hard in the side. Po went flying into the wall, but recovered quickly and jumped off of the wood below his feet right after touching it. He faked a kick, and went into a roll before shooting up when he was right infront of her as he raised his body with an uppercut to her jaw.

She dodged the attack and grabbed his arm before kicking him in the stomach repeatedly. He tried to free his arm but no matter how much he struggled, Tigress would not let him go free. So he decided to mimic her yet again.

He spun until he heard his arm snap behind his back. He groaned in pain, but nonetheless kicked the immensly shocked Tigress in the side as she did him. Tigress was so shocked that she didn't recover until she was laying on the floor. She stood up, panting as she glared at the panda. This wasn't the one she loved, this wasn't Po.

Po smirked at her and with another groan in pain he popped his arm back into it's socket and panted as he recovered from throbbing ache in his shoulder. He rolled his shoulders repeatedly before getting into his fighting stance again and crooking two of his fingers at her, baiting her to come at him.

She ran at him and growled as she jumped up and did a side swipe kick to his head with as much speed as she could muster. He took the hit. But he didn't move or fall. He just panted harder as she stood there infront of him with one leg still implanted in the left side of his head, he smirked viciously at her as blood leaked out of his ear and he grabbed her foot before she could take it away.

He chuckled softly before speaking,"You lose.", he laid an open palm strike to her stomach, which she took, but he didn't stop there. As she lowered her head from the hit, he kneed her in the face with his right leg and then kneed her in the stomach with his left.

He let her foot go as she doubled over while gasping for air.

"I'm going to go get something to eat. Clean yourself up now, you hear?", he chuckled a little as he pointed to his bleeding ear when he said this while looking down at her. He walked out of the Training Hall wiping the blood away, but not before calling back to her over his shoulder,"Thanks for the workout. Maybe on the way to the kitchen I'll actually break a sweat. That's going to take more exersion than sparring with you.", he then walked out to the Palace grounds to walk to the kitchen.

"I have...to speak to...Master about this...", she coughed and panted until she recovered and steadied her breath. As she stood up and straightened, she ran outside towards the Hall of Heroes.

Master Shifu was staring into the Moon Pool sighing as he thought of the loss of his dear friend. He had just finished burning incence for Mr. Ping. His ear twitched and he turned around as Tigress came running in. She bowed.

"Master, I have a problem that needs urgent care. Immediate help.", she stated.

"Alright, Tigress. What is it?", he said.

Tigress then told Shifu about when she caught up to Po at the cliff, how he said he wanted to die. How desperate and lost he looked. And how cold he acted towards her when he left. Then before Shifu could open his mouth, she continued to tell him about the spar that just occured between them. She told him every detail of what transpired, from what attacks were made to what words were said.

After she finished, Master Shifu stroked his beard and sighed."Po has decided to take a path of darkness, then. He is playing right into Fuhai's trap, this is exactly what he wants."

"What do you mean, master? What did Fuhai want with Po?", she asked.

"He told him that he would take everyone Po loved in this world, Tigress. And he was referring to you. Po loves you. And he cannot allow the peacock to think that he loves you anymore. I fear that he may very well tell you some untrue words soon, that will none the less shatter your heart. So keep up your guard, Tigress."

She shook her head."No, master. It was my guard that made Po this way. I must show him my feelings and return his."

"So you do have feelings for him then?", he asked with a raised brow while stroking his beard still.

"I love him, father.", she said with her head bowed.

After a minute to allow her words to sink in, he smiled at her somewhat, if not a little sad."I am happy for you, daughter. I only wish that I had not had learned this in such a dark time. Now. Go to him. And...", Master Shifu sighed,"You may...do whatever you wish if you think it may work in bringing Po back to us.", he cleared his throat and looked away.

Tigress realized what he was talking about and blushed,"Father!"

Shifu held up his paws in defense and laughed a bit,"It may be uncomfortable to think about, Tigress. For me it is downright distrubing. But for two people as in love as you two are I see no other two that should express their love in such a manner."

Tigress gulped hard and blushed more, but nodded. She bowed."Thank you, father.", she ran out of the Hall of Heroes.

In the kitchen, Po was eating tofu as was everyone. Po refused to make noodles. No one said a word.

Suddenly the silence was broken as Tigress slid open the doors panting. Po raised a brow and did not look at her like the others did. He just continued to look at and eat his tofu."Ah so the pussy wants another ass whooping, does she?"

Viper gasped and hissed,"Po!"

"You want to have a go next, hot shot?", he snapped back as he stood up.

The other four looked at him with confused faces. But Tigress walked right up to Po, shoved him into the wall of the kitchen hard and pinned his shoulders down. He growled.

"What the fuck do you think you're d-", he was cut off as Tigress gave him a deep and passionate kiss. He resisted and even started to bite her lip with a growl in his throat, but she didn't give up the kiss. His growl eventually faded as he closed his eyes and relaxed into the kiss as he returned it. They stood there for a few minutes kissing before Po pushed her away, panting. His cheeks were matted with tears.

"No. No! NO!", he ran out of the kitchen and down the hall.

Tigress stood there, looking at the floor as she was panting. Monkey put his paw on her shoulder."He's scared of you getting hurt, isn't he?"

She turned her head to look at the primate,"You heard the peacock too?", he nodded. Then Tigress did something no one thought she'd ever do. And it was even more unlikely than the kiss she had just planted on Po. She begged.

"Monkey, please. Please go and talk some sense into him! You're his best friend, he'll _have _to listen to you!", she pleaded with tears in her eyes as she shook him by the shoulders a bit.

Monkey sighed and nodded before running out of the kitchen to go after Po. Tigress slowly sat down at the table before feeling a finger over her lips and blushing in thought.

"So how was it?", asked Viper. She was the only one who knew about her feelings for Po in the first place.

"It was the single greatest feeling I have ever experienced.", she said with a comlete and pure tone of truth in her voice.

Viper smiled and whispered softly to Tigress with a nod,"Good for you."

Meanwhile, Monkey had followed Po to the barracks. Monkey quietly creeped up to Po's room incase Po was in as fragile a state as he seemed. And he was. The primate could hear Po crying hard and grunting in pain repeatedly."She loves me,", grunt,"She loves me not.", grunt,"She loves me,",grunt,"She loves me not"...

Monkey looked through the crack of Po's door and gasped slightly. Po was taking a small blade to his arm and cutting himself imbetween the love me's and love me not's. Monkey opened the door slowly and put his paws up to show he wasn't armed. He spoke with a voice filled with concern, but it also reflected Monkey's attempt to calm the panda.

"Now Po...you need to stop this. You're hurting yourself. You need to get some help."

"No! I don't need help I just need everyone to get the fuck away from me!", he pointed the small knife at Monkey with his shaking paw.

Monkey backed away with his paws still up."Okay, man...it's alllll good. Just put the knife down and I'll leave."

"Y-you promise?", said Po as the blade still shook in his paw. Monkey could see pure fear in Po's eyes. Anger wasn't in them at all, it was just...pure unbridled fear.

"I promise. Just set it down and slide it to me.", Monkey said as he kept himself in his position.

Po wavered for a minute in contemplation, looking around at the floor before nodding repeatedly and whispering under his breath."Okay, okay, okay...", he set the knife down and slid it gently over to Monkey's foot, his blood dripping acrossed the floor. Monkey picked it up and put it in his back pocket.

"Thank you, Po. I hope you feel better soon, alright?", Monkey said as he tried to allow Po to show confidence in another person.

Po nodded again, he was still breathing heavily.

"Okay. Now I'm gonna leave. If you want to come back out just let me know. I'm gonna go to the kitchen and after that I'll be in the Training Hall all alone.", the primate walked down the hall with sadness in his heart. Then once he was out of earshot of Po he began to run back to the kitchen.

Once inside, he found the rest of the Five were still there along with Shifu. He had heard Po's scream and came to investigate.

"Well, how is he?", asked Shifu.

Monkey took out the knife in his pocket and handed it to the red panda."He was cutting himself, Master. Po is truly becoming more and more unstable by the minute. What should we do?"

Everyone saw a single tear drop from Master Shifu's eye as he held the knife in his paws, looking down.

"We'll have to institutionalize him.", Shifu said.

"But master, we have to help him! Us!", said Tigress, her voice filled with emotion.

"And we will. We are not abandoning him, Tigress. But we must keep him from becoming a threat to himself or others. With his wisdom shattered and his knowledge still withstanding, he could destroy thousands with his irrational state of mind.", said Shifu.

"But we must keep him here.", Tigress stated.

"Why? I understand you wish to be close to him, daughter, but he must be cured before something horrible happens.", Shifu gripped the knife in his paws and sighed.

"For the reasons you just stated! We need to be the ones to help him! If we need doctors to help, we can find some and bring them here. But we cannot leave him with untrained civillians!"

Shifu sighed again."I...suppose you are right. But how?"

"I have a suggestion, master.", said Crane.

"Elaborate."

"If we can get Mantis close enough to Po so he can paralyze him with his accupuncture, we can keep him safe without hurting him. And we can allow him to move when and how we wish for him to.", stated Crane.

"Hmmm. Good idea. But again, how? We need to get close to him and there is no way he would allow that to happen if he is fragile minded enough to cut himself.", explained Shifu.

"I can help there, Master.", said Monkey."I told Po to meet me in the Training Hall if he wanted to talk to someone alone. He looked pretty convinced."

"Good. Alright. Everyone go to the Training Hall and hide. Mantis, go get your needles and watch Po outside his room. If he leaves, follow him. But if he starts harming himself again, paralyze him immediately and report back to me.", Shifu commanded.

The Five all nodded and the group emptied out of the kitchen.

Mantis soon found himself praying to the god's and asking them why Po was acting this way as he watched him through Po's window. Po had been in his room for an hour now. He would sit on his bed for a few minutes sobbing, then next he would mutter angry threats at the panda in the reflection of the Dragon Scroll which was hanging open on his wall like a mirror. Afterwards he paced back and forth before crying in a corner again. Suddenly out of no where Po stopped crying, got up and walked out of his room. Mantis followed him out of his room after jumping through the window and hopping down the hall, making sure not to let Po see him.

He followed him closer and closer to the Training Hall. When Po arrived, he saw Monkey sitting serenely on his tail in the middle of the floor with a smile at him,"Hey buddy. Are you feeling any better?"

Po nodded and kept walking in. Once he got to Monkey, the doors slammed shut and Po was pinned down onto his stomach. He screamed in a panic and flailed about."I trusted you! I trusted you!"

"But you need help, Po!", replied Monkey as Mantis stuck over two dozen needles into the panda's back, causing Po to become completely still and, as per Shifu's request, they put him gently into the Lotus Position and sat him up on the floor like a wobbly table.

"Po, you are sick. You need to let us help you and that-", Shifu groaned softly as he had accidently glanced at Po's cuts."and that will not happen unless you remain calm. We will be having a doctor come and speak to you tomorrow, and we will allow you to only be able to move your head to speak. Monkey will help make sure you don't harm yourself when using the restroom because that is the only time we will allow you to move freely. Your bathroom times will be once in the morning, once in the after noon and once in the evening before bed. Tigress will feed you your meals. And you will not train until this crisis is over. I know this sounds like a lot to put up with Po, but we care about you and everyone has agreed to help out in any way we can. Now everyone here has prepared something for you. I think you will feel a little better after listening to them. As for me, Po, I know how you feel about my daughter. And I give you my blessings. Also I wish to say that I am proud of for what all you have accomplished. And that...there is no doubt in my mind that yoour father is proud of you too. I hope some day that I will be allowed to call you my...son.", Shifu then turned and left before Po could see the tears in his eyes.

Everyone got infront of Po one by one and spoke to him while looking straight into his eyes.

"Po.", said Crane,"You're a special person to me. I'm sorry that your dad passed. But you know that we all love you, okay?", Crane then left. He didn't know what else to say. For the first time in his life, the avian genius was completely at his wit's end in the confusion of his friend's desent into insanity.

It was Monkey's turn."Look buddy, I don't know how much pain you're going through right now. And honestly I'm glad I'm not. It must be excruciating. But recognize us, man. We're here for you to support you. Don't let that bastard take my best friend away.", Monkey turned to leave, but turned around again and hugged Po gently, making sure not to touch the needles, before leaving.

Mantis was next."Po you're just about the coolest guy out there and I think that whatever you're going through, you can handle it. And if you can't, I've got your back. Well, as much of your back I can cover."Mantis laughed softly, followed by a hissing Viper before she took the bug's place.

"Po, don't you know how much we care? Don't hurt yourself. Stay in the light. We need you. Don't let revenge take over. The peacock will find justice, but we can't let the glue that holds this family together to die over it.", she said. She then hugged Po's arm tight before slithering outside and shutting the door behind her.

Tigress, now that she and Po were alone, sat down infront of him and stared at him for a minute. She just wanted to look into those eyes forever, but terror in those jade orbs made her heart ache.

"I know you don't want me harmed, Po. I know you think you don't need me or anyone. And I know that your heart feels cold and dead inside. But Po, I can't allow your heart to go in that direction. That's...that' why...I've decided to tell you what I've wanted to tell you since before we left for Gongmen City.", she put her paws on his shoulders and stared into his eyes"I love you, Po. I can't live without you. Your the light of my life and now that light is fading into darkness. I can't live without this..this heart.", she pressed her paw on his chest as her voice cracked,"Or these arms...", she ran her paw over his arm that had cuts over it,"Or this face.", she put her paws to his face and cried softly,"If you fall to darkness Po, how will I live? Don't you understand? I need you!", she pressed her lips to his. Stiff body or not, his lips were still as soft as ever. When she pulled back she gapsed at what she saw. Po was crying, but his tears were...pink.

Tigress yelled out,"Somebody get Master Shifu!"

In no time the Grandmaster had returned to the Training Hall, followed by the rest of he Five. Once he came to Po's side he put a finger over the pink hue of the residue on Po's cheeks. He studied the tears and sighed softly."Now it makes sense.", he mumbled.

The Five watched their master pace back and forth as he spoke, but they would each glance at Po with concern occasionally.

"Po, you have been infected with a powder called Chotsugai Backlash. It is designed to enter and destroy the mind of those who've been infected. It's effects vary depending on how much Chi a person holds on a regular basis. With the amount of Chi you hold, Po, I am surprised that your mind has not already unhinged."

"What do you mean unhinged master?", asked Tigress.

"Here is the good news.", he said as he paced back and forth in thought."It is not a lethal infection. Once it overcomes his mind and he cannot take anymore, his Chi will be completely used up. And without any Chi to feed the infection, it will quickly die. And then his mind will return to normal. We will be able to tell when his tears turn into a blood red."

Tigress couldn't help but smile at the news and turned to face Po, but it vanished when her Master continued.

"The bad news however...is that Po is about to endure the most painful and mind shattering journey anyone can traverse. At first his mind will simply tease him with illusions. But then they will start to feel very real. Soon there will be a point in time where he cannot stop crying. It is good that we caught him. No doubt that Fuhai wanted to see him suffer for himself and thats why he baited Po into chasing him. If we had not paralyzed him, we would surely watched him commit suicide in no time at all."

"Is there anything I can do to help, Master?", Tigress asked.

"Yes. Stay by his side, daughter, and comfort him imbetween his fits of insanity. It will keep him from feeling too much pain.", said Shifu."When his fits of insanity begin, his breathing will become unstable and the whites of his eyes may turn red. His breathing will steady once he has stopped one of his fits. Good luck. I will not lie and say that this is good fortune. But I will not lie and say that I am not relieved that this has a happy ending, though the journey is filled with bloodshed.", and then the red panda turned and left. Tigress had never seen her father look so vulnerable as he limped out of the Training Hall to meditate and hopefully ask Master Oogway for advice.

Everyone except for Tigress left and shut the door behind them. And as if on cue, Po's breathing began to quicken in pace rapidly. It sounded as if he was running a marathon. But his eyes began to turn red around the edges of his irises. Tigress frowned and sat in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest as she listened to his rapid heartbeat. This was going to be horrible. But for him, she would try to stay calm, she would try to stay cheerful, and she would try not to hunt down Fuhai in a personal vendetta to rip his throat out with her own claws.

Tigress let a tear drop down her whiskers as she closed her eyes, and as she felt Po's heartbeat finally settle, she allowed herself to fall asleep and dream of how life would be once this was all over. A life with Po. And a life of bliss.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch.3/ Blow Away My Body

Po. A single word. It meant precious. But how precious was he? Sure he was chosen to be the Dragon Warrior. But was he worthy? He has killed, no murdered two men. And for what? True, they both were hellbent on destruction in exchange for power. But was there no other way? Could he not have figured out how to defeat them without it resulting in their deaths?

Po watched and listened as his Master, his three brothers, his one sister, and the love of his life spoke to him. It was heart wrenching. He did his best to move but Mantis' needles were precise and there was no way he could get out of this.

_"But...wait, did she just say that she loved me? No! NO NO NO NO NO! GET AWAY FROM ME, TIGRESS! GET THE HELL AWAY! The peacock is going to kill you! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"_

He then felt her lips on his and almost instantly he invisioned her funeral just like he had witnessed his father's. He felt his tears create a river along his cheek. They hurt. His tears themselves were actually causing him physical pain as they left his eyes.

_"No...stay away, Tigress. I love you too, but please stay away...I can't bear another funeral...I can't live without you either...please go...please..."_

He heard and saw her scream when she saw his tears. He wondered why she was so upset. And that's when Master Shifu and the rest of the Five came in. He watched the red panda before him talking and he heard his words. But something caught his ear, and something else caught his eye. He looked at the pink residue on Master Shifu's finger and suddenly something within Po began to awaken again. His mind was calming itself and he could no longer hear the voices within his mind. They faded away. A slow fade, but now he could hear the words being spoken out of everyone's mouths instead of just an incoherent warbling noise that made him want to throw up like before.

_"Chotsugai Backlash? So I'm...I'm not going insane? Not really, at least? But...oh god, please tell me he didn't just say the illusions will feel real. Just stab me now and get it over ...maybe if I use up all my Chi really quick then maybe it won't be so bad. Good, you're leaving. Bu-Tigress, go with them! Argh! Wait...oh god...no...no...no, please no..."_

Po saw Tigress sitting in his lap. But then the lights went out on their own. He saw a golden dust form infront of him. It slowly turned in a spiral on the floor until it created a tornado. But it suddenly disappeared, revealing a now very real looking Tai Lung.

"You thought you could defeat me just like that, you fat prick? Hahahahahahaha. Did Shifu not tell you? The Wuxi Finger Hold is simply a transporter. But of course he couldn't tell you, no one knows what happens when you become a victim of the Hold. But wait, I'm here. So that must mean...I'm right?", he said mockingly. He then glanced at Tigress, but kept his glare on Po."Well, well, well. Lookie what we have here,", said Tai Lung as he walked over to Po and looked down at Tigress. She showed no signs of being able to see or hear him."I didn't know my 'sister' had grown so fond of you, Dragon Warrior. Perhaps I'll help her 'heal' the next time I give her a beating.", he said with a malicious grin.

_"No, you stay the fuck away from her!"_

"Ah, too bad. That's sort of the opposite of what I had in mind. Tell me, Dragon Warrior, does she suck better than she fucks?"

_"I swear to every god I know that if you touch one hair on her head-"_

"Oh so you know some gods, do you? Well then you'd better start praying. I'll be back later to test her out. Keep her moist for me, would you?", said Tai Lung with a devious cackle as he disappeared in a golden dust again.

_"What am I going to do? I have to get her away fr-wait, no...no, this is just an illusion. It's from that powder. But come to think of it...when did the peacock even put the powder on me? Maybe he did it when he got in my face? But...no, he didn't have the time and Master Shifu would have seen it. It must have been when...he kicked me in the face! Oh no, Tigress might have some on her vest...from when I was crying...great, now I won't be able to sleep..."_

"Don't worry, Po...I'll be okay.", said a small voice as the lights slowly came back on again. Po looked around until he saw Tigress, but she was just a little girl and was standing a few feet away from him and the adult Tigress.

_"Wonderful. I'm hallucinating again."_

"No, you aren't Po. I am using a meditation technique that Master Oogway taught me a long time ago. I can enter your mind, but I have to wait until you're mind is stable enough for me to be in here unless I'd be sucked into your insanity as well."

_"Then what the hell are you doing here? Get out of my head!"_

"Relax, okay? If you start going a little haywire I'll just pop right back out. Now anyways. What were you saying about my vest?", she glanced at the adult Tigress.

_"You need to take off your vest. I think Fuhai put the powder in my face when he kicked me in the air. Which means when I cried on your shoulder, it could have gotten onto your skin. So please hurry and get the vest off."_

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Po, telling a little girl to take off her clothes.", giggled Tigress.

_"Tigress, I'm not kidding around here!"_

"Alright, alright. Geez.", she vanished as the adult Tigress awoke and sighed before looking up at him with a smile,"You need to loosen up a little, Po."

_"That's another thing, you need to get away from me too! Damn it, you can't hear me again!"_

Tigress untied her vest and giggled again when she saw Po's cheeks turn red. She pulled down the vest and tossed it away, now all she had on was a very revealing see-through pink bra.

"That's better.", she said with a blush, though it was unseen behind her orange fur."I guess I should wash this off though, huh? Just in case it got on my fur? I'll be right back.", she then got up and walked outside, knowing that everyone was in bed as she went to the barracks and into the bathing area to rinse off her shoulder.

_"Ugh. Great, now I have a hard on. Thanks a lot, Tigress. Now...there has to be a way out of this. I remember...Mantis said that the only way to get out of this was if you consentrate into the only spots in your muscles where the needles were implanted. But I have to use my Chi to twitch the muscles. Ugh...fine, I guess I'll have no choice. After I pull them all out I'll just run like hell away from the palace, grab some food from the restaurant, and just...leave. Okay, we have a plan. Let's do this. Okay...okay, breathe...breathe..."_

Po then began to breathe deeply and slowly and focused his Chi. He smiled inside when he twitched a needle off.

_"Yes!"_

He continued to pick off the needles one by one. He began to gain control of his fingers and voice again. Just then Tigress came back in and saw what he was doing.

"PO! No, stop it!", she yelled as she ran over and stood infront of him and tried to think of a way to stop him.

"Tigress, you have to stay away from me! Don't you understand, if he thinks I love you, he'll kill you just like he did my dad!"

"Don't you think I can take care of myself a little better than your dad could?", shouted Tigress.

"I don't care, if he finds you and kills you my soul would shatter! You're too precious to me for me to risk it!"

Tigress blushed so much that it showed through her fur.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll be careful! And we'll take precautions and I'll stay with Viper whenever I'm not around you, okay?"

"No I have to protect you myself. I'm the only one who can stop him. With me not chasing him anymore he'll come back to watch me go insane. So I have to leave the Valley of Peace and either kill him or die trying. Either way you'll be safe."

Tigress' brain was in a frenzy. If accupuncture couldn't stop him, what could? The panda shaped cage in Monkey's room? No, it would take too long to get it in here. But then she remembered her master's words. And with every part of her old heartless self that still remained inside her screaming at her not to say the words she was about to say, she sighed heavily,"Po, you are way too stubborn for your own good. So...I'll make you a deal."

"What kind of deal?", Po raised an eyebrow and eyed her.

"If you stay here under Mantis' accupuncture treatment until you've finally been cured, I'll...", Tigress blushed through her fur again.

"You'll...what?", Po narrowed his eyes, trying to think what in the world Tigress could do that would make him stay.

"I'll...I'll...let you take me as your mate...", she kept her eyes fixated on the floor as her orange fur was useless now against the amount of blood now circulating and building in her cheeks.

Po cleared his throat as his face turned a pure pink."I won't lie, that's uh...that's the most tempting offer I've ever heard. But...I'd rather die a virgin and stay away from you than you being my mate and getting killed."

Tigress looked at him through wide eyes. His fortitude was amazing. And she smiled inside when she learned that he was a virgin. But this was becoming frustrating. So she resorted to her last and final weapon. A horrid weapon that Viper had taught her shortly after she admitted her feelings for Po to the snake. It was dishonorable, underhanded and completely unsportsmanlike. But it would work. Tigress whined and began to cry infront of Po.

"You don't find me attractive, do you?"

"What? of course I do!", said Po.

"Yeah right, I'm sure you say that to all the girls!"

"Oh come on, how many girls have made an offer like that to me? How many do I actually love?"

"Oh whatever Po, you don't love me!", said Tigress as she sobbed into her paws."I'm an ugly bitch!"

"Stop talking like that, you're the most beautiful girl in the world!"

"Yeah well I don't exactly feel like it, Po!", she cried."The only man I've ever loved just rejected me even after I offered him my body!", she sniffled and whimpered.

"But I didn't...I mean, you just...!", Po looked at Tigress as she had tears all over her cheeks, her lower lip was quivering and her eyes were filled with sorrow and pain when she looked back at him."Fine, I'll...I'll make you my mate!"

"Prove it! You have to stay here and get better!", sniffled Tigress.

The panda sighed."Fine...I'll stay..."

"Promise?", asked the tiger.

"I give you my word...", blushed the panda.

"Good.", said Tigress in a happy tone."Now stop pulling out the acupuncture needles. I'll go get Mantis so that he can put them back in.", she walked out of the Training Hall.

Po blinked as he watched her and sighed,"Great. Tricked. But...I guess it's worth it...", he blushed again. But then his heart began to beat fast when he heard the scraping of metal outside the now open door of the Training Hall. He stared at the doorway as fear entered his mind once again.

Before he could register the fear that he felt, a metal claw landed inside the door. And then it got steadily worse as Po's eyes trailed up the claw to a broken leg, then a bloody body, until finally it clicked as he watched Shen limping through the doorway. He was bloody. He was repulsively bruised. His intestines were hanging out of a very large wound in the left side of his abdomen. His left eye was smashed but it was hanging over his cracked beak from the cord that kept it attached. Po wanted to vomit, but he was too afraid.

"Hello, panda.", spat Shen as he limped closer and closer to him.

"Shen...okay, it's only an illusion, it's only an illusion...", whispered Po as he shut his eyes.

"Yes, you keep thinking that panda. Give me plenty of time to slit your throat!", said Shen with a laugh.

"No, just...get away from me!", he used his Chi to pop off the rest of the needles and got into his defensive stance. What he hadn't remembered however was that with all the Chi he had used, his illusions would become even more real.

"Oh come now, boy. I just want to thank you for bringing me the sweet release of death!", Shen said as he brought out one of his daggers and slashed at Po while swiging his right wing, his left one being useless. Po dodged the attack and panted as he backed away into the wall. Just then Tigress came in with a clean vest on followed by Mantis.

"Po, you gave me your word!", yelled Tigress angrily.

"It's-its Shen! Stop him!", whimpered Po as he swatted at the peacock, but the bird was surprisingly fast for a dead man and dodged every swat or punch.

Tigress' eyes narrowed and she ran to Po before putting her paws on his shoulders."Po, it's a hallucination. Everything is okay.", she said with her back facing the illusion of Shen. She kissed Po just as Shen thrusted his dagger towards Tigress. So Po spun around her to take the stab, which he did. But just before that instant where his stomach was pierced, Tigress saw a blinding light come from Po as it vanished as quickly as it arrived. He then collapsed on the floor and groaned in pain as he could feel the cold metal in his stomach.

All Po could hear now was a scream from Tigress before Shen put another dagger in his head. He blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4/Grow My Soul

Po had stopped moving, though he breathed normally. Tigress rolled him onto his stomach as Mantis recovered the needles and put them in Po's back again. Tigress sat him up and sighed.

"Mantis, what are we going to do? He's able to take out the needles whenever he wants to.", she said.

"Well now he can't. I just put a needle in the spot in his spine that would allow his brain to command any external muscle movement. He won't even be able to open his eyes."

"I guess that will have to do...", she sighed again as the sun began to rise."Great. I hope Master will go easy on us since we had to put up with Po's outburst."

"Yeah, that'll happen...", called back Mantis sarcastically as he hopped out of the Training Hall.

Tigress watched the bug leave, then turned to look at Po. Her eyebrows raised in surprise. Po's tears, though they weren't many, were blood red."How...?", she asked herself. She pressed her paw over his chest and felt his heartbeat. It was beating normally.

The feline got into the Lotus Position and eventually slipped into her trance-like state to enter his mind. This time, she opened her mind's eye to complete darkness, which scared her. The only times when a person's mind could be in such a blank like state was when they were either braindead or had suffered a major trauma. She hoped for the latter, which it was still a bitter prayer while her eyes scanned the area for any signs of Po's mind recovering. Finally a sigh of relief escaped Tigress' physical body as she spotted a small plant about a hundred feet away. She ran to it frantically and knelt down beside it. She looked around again and called out.

"Po!", she yelled. Her voice made a creepy echo that never seemed to end.

"PO!", she yelled a little louder and prolonged the shout.

"Tig...ress...", said a weak voice. She looked down and saw Po sticking out of the small plant, laying on a leaf. He was really tiny.

"Po, are you okay?", she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah...I'm just...really tired. I think I used up all my Chi...", he said as his head lowered and rested on the leaf.

"That's impossible, with all the Chi you still had...wait, I saw a flash of light when you spun around me. What did you do?", she asked, if not a little angrily. Po was really weak so she allowed him to not respond for a few minutes as his Chi began to recover slowly.

"The Eight Trigram Sixty Four Palm Technique...", mumbled Po after the plant had grown a little bigger.

Tigress blinked,"Well where in the hell did you learn that?"

Po shrugged slightly as he began to grow a little stronger."Guess...I just made it up?"

She raised a brow."Po? The truth."

"Promise not to tell Shifu?", he mumbled again.

"Yes, I promise.", she replied if not in an irritated tone.

"Well...I sorta snuck into Master Oogway's old room one night and read a few techniques he had found in his travels. So I memorized as much as possible and left before Master Shifu could get back from his date.", Po said in his normal voice as his Chi finally returned to a safe state.

Tigress shook her head,"Wait, what date?"

"Master Shifu had a date with some fox and he asked me to guard the Hall of Heroes until he returned, apparently in case someone tried to steal anything.", mumbled Po as he yawned tiredly. He was feeling better, but with all his Chi depleted, he was far from being energetic anytime soon.

Tigress' eyes narrowed,"Po...when was this exactly?"

"Uhh...", Po tried to think."About two and a half weeks ago?"

"Did she ever see you or any of us?"

"No, she...she met Master Shifu in the arena and they didn't stick around. I only saw her because I was standing in the doorway of the Hall of Heroes to get information so that I could make fun of Shifu properly when he got back."

Tigress growled softly."Now listen carefully, Po. Did Master Shifu ever say that his date was a fox?"

"N-no, she just showed up in the middle of the afternoon and they took off.", blinked Po."What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you when you wake up. But right now you need to rest.", she said as she stood up.

"Oh, okay. Uhm, so...about our deal?", he blushed.

Tigress blushed as well and smiled at the now half sized Po."We'll talk about that later, Po. Just get better, okay?", she said as she rubbed the back of her finger over his cheek, causing Po to turn red.

"Okay.", said the pink and black Po.

Tigress giggled softly and vanished as she awoke in her physical body. But when she opened her eyes she frowned. She took out the needles and laid him on his back so that his head rested in her lap. After an hour of waiting for Po to wake up, Tigress became a little worried. His Chi surely would have recovered enough by now to at least let him wake up. As she thought this, she saw out of the corner of her eye the rest of the Five and Master Shifu

"Tigress, why has Po been released from Mantis' needles? He told me of Po's bout of madness last night, and said that he just put them back in!", said Master Shifu.

"It is alright, master. He is cured. His Chi was completely drained.", she replied.

Shifu's eyes narrowed."Really now? But Po's Chi has always been massive. How can you be so sure?"

"I entered his mind, father. His Inner Self was depleted down to the size of an ant. But I am frightened for him. This was over an hour ago, and he should have been able to awaken from his sleep by now.", Tigress said as she lowered her ears and looked down at Po.

"How peculiar...I wonder why his Chi was so low?", Shifu said stroking his beard.

Tigress looked at her Master, then at her companions, then back down at Po."Master, I need a word with you alone."

Shifu nodded to the four behind him, who immediately bowed and left the Training Hall to go to the kitchen for breakfast. He turned back to the tiger after the others left,"Go on."

"So...", Tigress began as she kept her eyes on Po, stroking the fur on his forehead,"how did your date turn out, father?"

Shifu blinked and cleared his throat,"How did you know about that? And do we not have more pressing matters to attend to?", he glanced at Po.

"We do. But this is part of the pressing matters. What did she look like?", Tigress asked impassively.

"Tigress, you should know that it is very inappropriate for you to ask me such things.", he stated."But she was very nice, she was a raccoondog if you must know."

"Oh really? Because Po said she was a fox.", she said as she looked up at her master with a suspicious gaze.

"Well I suppose she was somewhat attractive, but I wouldn't say that.", Shifu cleared his throat again."But back to Po.."

"Not fox as in beauty, master. Po said that a fox went with you on your date.", her whiskers twitched as she eyed him, as if trying to size him up. Her gaze made Shifu feel uneasy.

"A...fox? No, she was a raccoondog. Of that I am certain.", he said.

"Did anything strange happen on the date?"

"Tigress, please. Let us get back to Po?", he insisted. Tigress sighed and nodded.

"I believe that he was traumitized when he passed out, father. And I think..his trauma is what is keeping him from waking.", she said worriedly.

"But how could he possibly have-"

"The Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palm Strike.", she said.

Shifu looked aggitated as his eye twitched.

"Please say nothing to him, father, he told me in confidence and I only wish for him to wake up.", said Tigress, shaking slightly as she resisted the urge to weep. Master Shifu walked over to her and stood next to the sleeping panda with a sigh. He looked deep in thought. Tigress perked her ears up slightly when she noticed him approach them."Master?"

Master Shifu said nothing to his daughter, but looked over Po's limp body as if looking for imperfections."Hm."

The red panda prodded a finger into various places in Po's stomach. He pulled back some of the fur slightly to look at his pink skin in a few places. Then he rubbed a paw over Po's shoulder, then his wrist.

"Uhhh...master, may I ask what it is that you are doing?", said Tigress as she looked very confused and a little creeped out.

Shifu never looked at her and continued to prod,"I believe that you are correct, daughter, he has indeed been traumatized. But you are only half right. He was traumitized when he unleashed all of his Chi, was he not?"

Tigress nodded, not wanting to interuppt him.

"Then his Chi has indeed recovered. But the trauma he received has blocked the flow of his Chi, it cannot escape it's core in any way. I can release the blockage, but it will take some time.", he pressed both paws into Po's thigh gently to check the gate of Chi nearest there, not even coming close to wanting to touch the actual gate.

"But master, when you released the Five and I from Tai Lung's nerve attack, it took merely moments. Is this not the same thing?", asked Tigress.

"Essentially, yes. But didn't you ever wonder how Po had won his battle with Tai Lung?", Shifu asked as he made a soft jab into Po's side to see if he hit his mark. He didn't. He sighed in frustration and kept prodding.

"No master, he said that he did not want to describe the day that he killed a man.", she said softly.

"Tai Lung's nerve attack does not work on him. His fat kept Tai Lung from finding the crucial nerve endings in his body. Which is exactly the problem that I am having right now.", Shifu grumbled that last part before walking around to Po's other side.

"Perhaps if his body were more relaxed?", she suggested, but she knew it was a vain suggestion. As she expected, Master Shifu shook his head.

"No if anything we need to put his body through stress right now...", he thought for a moment, then looked up at the sky through the open ceiling of the Training Hall. He smiled softly as he continued to look up,"Go get the sheilds in the armory, daughter. We have a panda to bake."


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5/ Out Of The Frying Pan...

Tigress blinked in confusion for a moment as if she hadn't heard her master correctly. Shifu noticed her confusion and chuckled.

"We are going to bring Po up to the roof and place sheilds all around him. When he starts sweating his body will eventually become dehydrated and his muscles will become stressed to the point of oversensativity. At which point Mantis and I will be able to find his nerve endings much more easily.", the red panda explained.

The tiger laid her ears against her head,"But master, isn't that dangerous?"

"Maybe so, but I see no other way to revive him. Now go get the sheilds, we will need about thirty.", said Master Shifu.

"Th-thirty?", said Tigress under her breath, but she bowed to her master and ran out of the Training Hall.

Shifu pressed his paw to the panda's forehead to see what his current tempature was. It was average. He removed his paw and stroked his beard for a few minutes examining Po's face. It was a peaceful face, but the red stains on his cheeks made the sight rather disturbing. Then he began to think about his daughter and Po. And what they had accomplished together when one alone couldn't. But then he began to think about what they _might _accomplish together soon. Shifu shook his head as if trying to rid himself of unwanted images in his mind.

"I do not know what she sees in you, Po. But you obviously mean a great deal to her. So please allow this to work.", he sighed. Just then Tigress came walking back in slowly, yet you could hardly tell that it was her as she was carrying a tower of rattling sheilds in her arms. Shifu eyed her as she came in. He had never seen his daughter look so shaken. Tigress sat the sheilds down and kept her slightly quivering paws on the top so that it would not fall. Or maybe it was so that _she _would not fall.

"Thank you, Tigress. Now take Po up to the roof, I will go get the others.", nodded Shifu.

Tigress bowed to him again and lifted Po up onto her back so that his arms laid over her shoulders. She resisted a shudder and a blush as she felt his breath on her neck and hopped up to the top of the obstacle course before hopping up to the roof through the open ceiling.

As she arrived she realized that they would have no room on the roof of the Training Hall for the sheilds and turned to tell her master, but he had already left. Sighing, Tigress looked around at the rooftops of the Jade Palace to find a suitable spot. After a minute of searching, she growled in aggravation, but then looked to her left and perked her ears up as she looked up at the Hall of Heroes. The tiger's eyes flashed and she dashed off of the roof and up the steps towards the Hall.

After she reached the top, Tigress stopped infront of a pillar. She would have to climb up. But how? She had to keep a hold of Po. She closed her eyes in momentary thought.

'What if I...tie my sash around his waist and haul him up? No...no, I enjoy the use of my teeth. My sash isn't long enough for both of our waist lines, let alone with making a knot. Even if it was, it would be way too tight-'

Tigress halted her thinking and looked at her vest. It was very tight, she always made sure it was tight enough to keep her body slender and aerodynamic. Her cheeks turned red and as she saw no other possible way, she crouched down, pulled Po's paws down the front of her vest along with his arms, and straightened up. It worked, he was now hanging off of her as his feet dangled a few inches off of the ground.

The tiger grabbed the pillar infront of her and climbed up it until she reached the edge of the slanted roof. Once she reached the top, Tigress found that it was flat for the most part. She nodded in satisfaction and laid her soon to be mate down onto his back.

Tigress turned and ran to jump off of the roof, but once she arrived at the lip she stopped as something had caught the corner of her eye. With her right foot on the ledge, she turned around and stared in the corner of the roof. In that corner were three white feathers. At first she thought they might be Crane's, but as she drew closer...

She growled after grabbing the feathers in her paw and looked around at the sky.

"Come out here Fuhai, you bastard!", she roared.

Tigress scanned the sky, then the mountain behind her, and the trees that jutted out of the cliffsides. She could hear Master Shifu calling for her, but she would not comply. She would not leave Po's side for anything now. Tigress backed up until her legs were standing on either side of his hips as she stood over him protectively. She was glaring at the distant sky with determination.

The tiger's ears twitched as she heard the sound of wings flapping. Then she heard the sound of someone touch down. Just as she spun around in a roar with a slash of her claws at the ready, she heard the bird's voice.

"Whoa, whoa, Tigress stop!", and she complied as she froze on the spot, panting.

Crane lowered his stance and looked at her with concern."Tigress, what's wrong? Master Shifu was calling for you."

"Are these yours?", she asked as she presented the feathers to him. Crane studied them and shook his head.

"No, they're not. I don't even come up here, at least I haven't in a few years.", he stated."Why, who's do you think they are?"

"I knew it...", she hissed."They're Fuhai's. He's been spying on us.", she gripped the feathers in her paw with all her might, tearing the strands.

Crane had the same reaction as Tigress' at this realization. He looked around at the sky. The only difference was his success on the subject. He raised a wing,"There he is!", then raised the other as he took off with surprising speed. Tigress growled as she spotted the peacock soaring over the village at the same height as the Palace and whispered a prayer that Crane would show the same ferocity she would.

Crane glared at the peacock with determination in his heart. He knew not what he could do to help his friend in this grim time before and for the first time since he was a janitor he had felt helpless. But now he knew what to do. He would avenge his friend's father. This was a fight between avians. And he would win. For Po.

The peacock smiled evilly at Crane and reached for a bag of powder at his waist with his talons.

"Oh no you don't!", Crane shouted as he swung passed the peacock and cut the bag from his belt.

"Very preimptive, Master Crane. But who informed you that you were my target?", chuckled Fuhai.

Crane looked down at the bag as it fell, spilling the powder over the village.

"No.", was all Crane could whisper before he swooped down below the powder and flapped his wings with all his might to direct the powder towards the forest. He was successful, but the powder would have to be washed away and until then the forest would have to be quarentined.

Crane ascended back to the now retreating peacock, and with anger at his enemy's cowardly move, he sped up to close the gap. He flapped his wings harder and harder, gaining speed with every passing second. At the last moment, Fuhai turned just as Crane kicked him in the face with his talons. Fuhai groaned in pain. He wasn't much of a fighter. And without his powder and the ability to confuse Crane with his pattern, he was left with only one other option.

"Master Crane...a very good...kick.", panted Fuhai as he floated there flapping his wings slowly."But do you...not understand what...a hostage...situation is?"

Crane glared at the peacock once more as the two stared each other down in midair."What are you talking about?"

"I trust that your master has told you that...Lord Shen was none other than my nephew.", grinned Fuhai as he began to recover.

"He has. Get to the point!", spat Crane as he was growing tired of talking. He felt like ripping this peacock in half for what he put his friend through.

"My my, what a temper. But yes you are right, I am drawing this out much too long. I simply cannot wait any longer to unleash my plan. You see, in a fit of brilliance at my nephew's burial, I rounded up the wolves he left behind at his armory. And that is where I found...his designs.", he cackled.

Crane's eyes widened."You didn't."

"I did.", said the peacock with a chuckle of amusement in his voice."And even as we speak there is an armada of wolves at the outskirts of the Valley of Peace all armed with cannons- well, cannons not quite as powerful as my nephews, they are smaller, but they will still serve their purpouse."

"You want to destroy the Valley of Peace? I thought this was just a personal vendetta at Po!", shouted Crane.

"Ah but why not have a reward for all my hard work besides the pelt of that murderer? I say, while I'm at it, why not make myself a king.", stated Fuhai."But destroy is such an ugly word, and an untrue one at that. I plan on ruling this Valley, which my wolves will make short work of. I had planned on coming in three days when the Dragon Warrior was just at his peak of insanity, but you see if I have not returned to the checkpoint in ten minutes, Master Crane, my wolves will begin to load the cannons. But not with balls of metal. But with bags of powder.", seethed the peacock, his voice cold and venomous like before when he spoke to Po.

Crane panted with anger. He was literally shaking with rage. He tried to think of all the options, all the actions, all the reactions to the actions, all the reactions to the reactions. Then he looked back at the Palace, then back at Fuhai.

"Fine. Go back. But I want to know when you plan on attacking.", said Crane.

"Ah so you trust my word then?", asked Fuhai as he eyed his fellow avian, now filled with an air of interest.

"You may be an evil psycopath, but you have never spoken a lie from what Shifu said of your conversation. And no I do not trust your word nor your actions. But I do trust your history of actions. You won't lie to me, you are too interested in having us squirm in waiting rather than giving us a quick death.", said Crane.

The peacock chuckled evilly."Well now. I had heard that the master of the crane style was intelligent but I had not expected this. You know in a way we are a lot alike, Master Crane. Hmhmhmhmhmhm. I will return in six hours. And do use your last hours wisely, Master Crane, I do so love a challenge.", Fuhai the flew off towards the checkpoint.

Crane floated there for a minute staring at the peacock that flew away. Then he sighed in anger and flew back to the palace.

As he arrived back at the roof where Tigress stood, he found Master Shifu standing beside her. In a corner of the roof stood the pile of sheilds shimmering in the daylight. He touched down infront of the two and sighed when they looked at him expectantly.

"Six hours. He'll be back in six hours to take over the Valley of Peace. He has an army of wolves armed with cannons and he's redisigned them to shoot that Chotsugai Backlash powder.", said Crane.

"Why didn't you kill him?", snapped Tigress.

"Because he said if he didn't arrive back at his army's checkpoint in ten minutes then the wolves would attack anyway.", explained Crane.

Master Shifu rubbed his temples,"We must act fast then. Po must be revived so that we can disable the cannons properly before the attack has commenced. Otherwise we will be up to our throats in madmen."

As if he had just given her an order to do so, Shifu noticed Tigress already surrounding Po with sheilds. He couldn't help but let a small smile find him in pride of his daughter's quick and determined actions, but it quickly vanished as he turned to Crane,

"Crane, go and get Mantis and bring him back here. Tell Monkey to come up to the roof as well with plenty of water. Then tell Viper to go and get a bath ready for Po and put a change of clothes in the bath house along with it. After all this, I want you to go down to the village and tell everyone to come here to the Jade Palace. Do not give an explanation, just be certain that the village is emptied.", commanded Shifu.

Crane bowed to Master Shifu and flew off.

Shifu turned around and squinted his eyes, putting a hand infront of his face as he saw the amount of light being reflected around Po. Tigress on the other hand was just gawking at what she had done. Shifu noticed her expression and did his best to examine the scene.

Tigress had overlapped the sheilds to keep them propped up and had layered them in a circle around Po's body. But what she hadn't realized was the pattern she was making. The design now looked like a giant lotus flower with Po laying in the center. He was covered in a golden light from the yellow sun and the silver sheilds.

Tigress regained her composure and closed her eyes as she shook her head, seeing spots in her eyelids from staring too long.

"Alright, we might as well get comfortable. This is going to be a while.", said Shifu as he hopped up ontop of Oogway's staff. Tigress sat crouched down at the edge uneasily and stared out into the distance where the peacock had flown off towards.

After an hour, Mantis had arrived along with Monkey, then Viper slithered up after clinging her body around the pillars like she climbed trees, and Crane was sitting perched atop the front door to the Palace as the villagers poured in slowly, gawking at the sight of the rest of the Five, Master Shifu, and an unrecognizable light shining straight into the air on top of the Hall of Heroes roof. The Five and Master Shifu could hear numerous questions being asked amongst the villagers pertaining to the sight and why they were brought up here.

Crane found the flow of people in the village thinning, so he did a once over around the village to make sure no one was left behind. Once he was satisfied with what he saw, Crane closed the door to the Palace and flew up to the roof to join the others.

"Thank you, Crane. You've done wel-"

"Master, is it time to try waking Po up yet? It has been an hour and I'm getting a knot in my stomach.", interuppted Tigress.

"Yes, yes of course. I am sorry. Mantis, come, let's get to work.", said Shifu as he and Mantis tossed away the sheilds around Po and began to start prodding Po.

Tigress let a smile appear as Po jerked from their poking. Shifu then turned around and, noticing Tigress' expression, smiled back."Monkey, get ready. Po will want to drink quite a bit after he wakes up."

Monkey stood at the ready with two buckets of water in his paws.

Tigress hurriedly walked over to Po and knelt at his side as Mantis and Shifu gently started to open every one of his Chi gates. Mantis regrettably had to open the gate at Po's midsection at Shifu's orders. After each gate was opened, Mantis hopped away from Po as Master Shifu nodded to Tigress before jabbing into Po's diaphram.

Immediately Po wheezed and coughed as he woke up and sat up straight, causing Master Shifu to hop off of him ad back up beside Monkey. Tigress resisted the urge to hug him and cry on his shoulder. Monkey handed Po a bucket of water and Po instantly began to drink. The six around him smiled and waited as he drank and coughed a couple of times.

Monkey, not looking away from Po, turned his head to Master Shifu."Master, I know that he's thirsty but is it even possible to drink this much water in one sitting?"

"Not without drowning. But most of it is not for drinking.", said Shifu with an amused smile. His eyes flashed mischeivously as Money gave him a look and shook his head in fear as he realized what his master meant.

"Do I have to? She's sitting right there.", whispered Monkey.

"Do it. His body tempature must be lowered.", commanded Shifu in a whisper.

Monkey sighed in defeat. Then he threw the water at Po, tossing some onto Tigress as well since she was sitting so close. They both gasped and jumped. Tigress growled."Monkey...run."

"Now now, Tigress, I told him to do it. Now take Po to the bath house. The rest of us will explain everything to the villagers.", said Master Shifu as the rest of the Five hopped, slid, climbed, and flew off of the roof. Tigress blushed softly and nodded to her master. Shifu vanished in the blink of an eye as Po stood up with a groan, Tigress put his arm over her shoulders and smiled as she helped support him.

"How are you feeling?", she asked.

"Ugh, like a wet raisin.", he replied.

Tigress giggled and helped Po to the edge of the roof before putting him on her back like before and jumped off of the roof, avoiding the eyes of the villagers that tried to follow their movements. Once they arrived at the barracks she set him down, but he stumbled slightly and held onto her waist as he struggled to keep his legs from wobbling.

The two blushed, but neither of them moved from their position. Po worked up all the courage he had left and slid his arms around her to pull her to his chest. She obliged and leaned back against him, letting her pride melt away with the final thin sheets of ice around her heart.

Tigress let her tears slide down her cheeks silently, but after a few moments, she spun around and hugged the panda tightly. He returned the hug.

"I missed you so much. Don't ever leave me again, okay? I was so worried...", sniffled Tigress.

"I promise. And I missed you too.", said Po softly and kissed her forehead. He smiled when he heard her purr in response to his show of affection. The two hugged for a few minutes, but after a while Tigress began to loosen her grip on him. Po looked down at her as _he _was now the one holding _her _up. She had fallen asleep against his soft furry chest.

Po resisted a laugh at this realization and scooped her up into his arms before limping into the barracks, carrying her to her room.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 5/ To Kill A Mocking Bird

The Dragon Warrior limped his way into Tigress' room with great effort. He had to balance himself enough to gently swing open the doors without tearing the paper walls with his foot, for he was too afraid of falling backwards in her room rather than out in the hall if he attempted to open the door by leaning back against it. Because everyone would most certainly come in from the noise, at least Master Shifu or Viper whom both have the best hearing of the group aside from the tiger herself. And while Viper might understand the situation, Po was too afraid of the compromising position in case Master Shifu found them.

Po shuddered slightly in thought of the red panda punishing him, but shook the thought away long enough to lay the tiger on her bed. He smiled down at her and sighed through his nostrils. He so wanted to bring his lips to hers just then, but it wouldn't be right in her unconcious state. Plus he wanted it to be absolutely consensual. So the panda leaned down and kissed her cheek before pulling the light blanket over her beautiful form. She shifted in her sleep and mumbled incoherently from his kiss.

The panda stroked his finger over the cheek that he had his lips to before walking out of her room and silently closing her doors.

He walked to the bath house as instructed by Master Shifu and opened it's door to meet a wall of steam in his face. The Dragon Warrior opened his eyes at the steam cloud to find that a bath had been drawn along with a stack of indistinguishable clothes, not being entirely certain what of his wardrobe the stack consisted of. But he shrugged it off and closed the door behind him after making his way inside. He undressed himself and immersed his body into the bubbling, jasmine scented water with ginger movements at the stinging sensation.

Po let himself sink under the water completely for a moment with a held breath before coming back up. With a relaxed sigh he leaned back against the edge of the tub and closed his eyes. He could feel his tightened and cramped muscles loosening in the heat of the water, and his once sweaty fur was now becoming soft and clean again. Before the panda could stop himself he felt his mind slip into a dreamstate, though it lasted only an instant in his mind.

A knock at the door caused him to open his eyes with a start.

"Huh? Wha?", he looked around.

"Po, are you done yet? It's been an hour and Master Shifu needs everyone to meet in the kitchen. We've got to get a plan going to get back at Fuhai. Did Tigress tell you?", said Monkey through the door.

"Uh, no! I'll be out in a minute! Just gotta dry off and..such...", he responded sheepishly.

"Got it. But hurry up, apparently Crane says we've got about four hours left until the asshole tries an invasion attempt on the Valley. By the way, where's Tigress? She in there with you?", asked the primate teasingly.

Po's face turned a complete scarlet,"No, she's not in here with me! She fell asleep! And seriously? What the hell, why didn't anybody tell me!"

"Ooh, sorry bro, that happened to me once.", snickered Monkey as he ignored the question.

"That's not what I meant! She was up all night with me last night and didn't get a wink of sleep, she needs her rest!", he facepalmed after realizing what he just said and hearing Monkey's almost uncontrollable laughter behind the door, though Monkey did his best to stifle himself.

After the laughter died down, Monkey sighed and wiped a tear away from his poking fun at his friend,"I know what you mean, Po. Just wake her up when you're done.", he said with a chuckle before walking away.

"Yeah, yeah, see you in the kitchen ya immature ape.", mumbled Po as he started to dry himself off.

He drained the water after drying off and began to stretch out his body with his now loosened muscles, then he picked up his clean clothes and examined them.

"Huh. Don't remember these.", he said to himself as he slipped on a pair of scarlet red shorts made of silk and some sandels made of blackwood. Then something caught his eye after putting on the sandels. It was a long black cloth folded up. He examined it and concluded that he had no idea what it was. So he picked it up and walked out of the bath house before making his way to the kitchen. Once he arrived he found Master Shifu and the Five minus Tigress sitting at the table.

"Po, welcome back. I thought you were going to wake Tigress?", questioned the master.

"Can't we just let her sleep for a while? She's gotta be tired since-", he glanced at Monkey, who was holding back a snicker,"since she had to watch over me while I was paralyzed last night."

"Hm. Perhaps she can go back to sleep afterwards but we need her here to discuss the next action taken against Fuhai, so please go and wake her up.", said Master Shifu after giving Monkey a disapproving glance having heard Monkey's jokes with his sensative ears. But with the current situation at hand Shifu would have to wait to deal out the proper punishment for the primate.

"Oh, okay just as long as she gets to rest at some point. But uhm, hey, what the heck is this thing? What do I do with it?", he asked the group as he presented the long piece of cloth,"And for that matter, where did you guys get these shorts and sandels? I don't remember buying them."

Viper rolled her eyes,"That's a sash, Po. You wear it around your shoulder or waist? And I bought them for you."

"Aw Viper, you didn't have to do that.", grinned Po.

"Of course not, but you've been having a rough time and I wanted to get you something.", said the snake with a sympathetic smile.

Po bowed to her gratefully and put on the sash around his torso and over his shoulder like Master Shifu's sash was worn. He left the kitchen and ran back to Tigress' room. Knocking on the door with a soft rapping he swung open the doors and whispered.

"Tigress?", he poked his head inside and walked over to the peacfully sleeping feline. He felt horrible having to wake her up, but it wasn't his decision to make. Sighing, he knelt down and laid a paw over her shoulder,"Tigress.", he said softly, when she would not wake up he shook her slightly,"Tigress, wake up."

She wouldn't move. He looked at her closely and noticed something that made his soul shake in anger, pain, sorrow and panic. Her throat had been cut and she was bleeding out. He hadn't noticed as her arms were hiding the wound, it had looked like she was resting her head on her arms.

"MASTER SHIFU!", he roared. Within an instant the red panda came in.

"What's wrong-", he saw his daughter as his eyes went wide. He quickly put all his panic aside and checked her pulse, if there was any chance left to save her he would not waste even the fraction of a second. Her pulse was weak but still there so without hesitation he rushed acrossed the floor to her room and opened her dresser drawer, got out a small sewing kit and began to sew up the cut in her throat with amazing precision and speed. Po was visibly shaking, obviously in a panic. He managed to whimper out a sentence.

"Please master, is there anything I can do?"

"Yes, what is your blood type?"

"I-I don't know! My medical records are down at the restau-", he stopped when Shifu disappeared and reappeared within seconds with a small stack of papers and began scanning them frantically. His legs were screaming in pain, not since he ran to Gongmen City in less than a day was he this exausted. But with his daughter's life at stake he would gladly sacrifice the use of all limbs.

"Good, you are AB just as Tigress!", he said.

"That's great, what should I-", Po stopped yet again, but this time it was from pain as Master Shifu had disappeared and reappeared again with a syringe and had begun syphoning blood from Po's veins and injecting it into the tiger's. By now the rest of the Five had come to the doorway and stood in the hall with worried expressions, having no idea what was going on.

Po sat down after Master Shifu had taken another syringe full of blood from him for a third time. He was feeling weak, but he was no where near wanting to stop this process.

After five syringes full of blood, Master Shifu checked her pulse. It was getting stronger so he sighed in relief. The four warriors in the hall made their way inside. Viper gasped as she saw her sister's throat and almost started to cry, but was stopped by Shifu's words.

"She is going to be okay. She just needs to rest. Monkey, go and get some hot water and towels, we need to clean her wound. Mantis, go and inform the doctors in the courtyard what has happened and bring them here. Tell them that I have sewn the wound shut with thread, but it needs to be tended more professionally. Crane, scan the area for any signs of Fuhai. Viper, stay with Tigress. Lock the windows and make sure no one but the doctors come in or out. Po,", he looked up at the angry looking panda with a grim expression of his own, the panda looked back at him."Come with me...", the red panda walked out of the room.

Po did not move for a moment as he was very reluctant to leave Tigress' side. But Viper, who was the only one left in the room besides the two and was closing the windows, gave Po a reassuring smile."Po, it's okay. She'll be fine."

"I know, but...", he sighed."Hold on a second...", he walked out of the room and across the hall to his room before coming back into Tigress' room a few seconds later. Viper blinked in slight confusion at first at Po's actions, but smiled warmly as Po placed his panda doll in Tigress' paw. It had been cleaned and looked a lot better than it originally had when Po first showed it to the Five."I'll be back, Tigress. I'm going to kill that bastard once and for all.", he said quietly before kissing Tigress on the forehead and running out of the room.

As he caught up to the enraged red panda standing just outside the barracks, Master Shifu immediately began to walk down the shallow steps towards the Jade Palace with Po by his side, he would not look at him, his stare was kept straight ahead as if he was scanning for invisible bumps in the distant road.

"Po, do you realize how alike we are?", asked the master.

Po squinted his eyes slightly and glanced at Master Shifu."Uhm...not entirely, sir, no."

"We both have attained Inner Peace, we are both pandas, though I am of a much more graceful race, we both love my daughter, and now...", he sighed heavily as he stopped and turned to the Dragon Warrior. Po stopped as well and gazed an uneasy expression at his master. But the master then looked around suspiciously and gently smacked Po in the back with Oogway's staff to lead him into the Hall of Heroes as Mantis led a group of doctors into the barracks in the now distant building. "Now we both have reason to go on a personal vendetta. Po..."

Po's eyes widened some, he wanted to say something but he was too awestruck at the oppurtunity that was about to be presented to him.

Master Shifu's voice slowly became more and more venomous,"You and I are going to go to Fuhai's encampment, alone. And we will kill this peacock for what he has done. It was bad enough to murder your father in cold blood, but to have the audacity to attempt to murder my daughter...!", he closed his eyes and breathed deeply to calm himself.

Po tried his best not to go into fanboy mode. to actually go out and do what he wanted with his master's permission, and to even be aided by him in this venture, was one thing he did not expect and it was one thing he had been wishing for in his vengful mind. But as Shifu calmed himself from his anger, Po calmed himself from his excitement. The panda spoke first,"But...master. As much as I want to do this...are you sure this is the best way to handle the situation? Are we not to wait for the rest of the Five and strategize a plan?"

Master Shifu snapped his eyes wide open and spoke quickly as if his words were poison and he was spitting them out."This will be the only time you will ever hear me say this, panda. Unpredictability is the best course of action right now. He would expect me to send the rest of the Five along with you to come charging in immediately with no plan at all. In our confusion he would kill us on the spot. But it. Won't. Work. So now you and I will leave. Immediately. The rest of the Five will stay here and guard the villagers and Tigress."

Po stood there for a moment in silence, but nodded and sighed,"Fine. But on one condition."

Shifu furrowed his brows and turned to walk down the giant hall,"We could spend all day debating on who actually kills the peacock, Po. Let us just defeat him first and when the situation best presents itself to us, then he shall die. Whether it by your hands or mine.", Po nodded once more and followed the red panda once again,"Now then. We leave immediately, but before we do I want to make something clear. I do not want this to be a rampage of murderous intent. We are not to sink to his level, Po. So if any of his men save for the wolf that killed your father decide to surrender, we will apprehend their request and render them unconcious.", the red panda stopped infront of the Moon Pool.

"I understand, master.", replied Po with a bow.

"Good. Let's get going, then.", and with that the two dashed out of the side exit of the Hall of Heroes and through the forest to start their desent around the Palace and village to avoid any spies that may be lurking about.

Within minutes they were out of the village and stopped at the top of a hill that overlooked the vast field outside of the gates of the small town.

"Where is he...master? Where...could he be?", panted Po as he stared into the massive scenery before them with his paws on his shaking knees. He was already feeling weak, but with the rage that fueled him he would not give in to his weakness.

Shifu went silent for a few minutes as he scanned the territory that he had protected for most of his long life. There were only a few places one could hide a large army, and a few more if that army was smaller than three hundred soldiers. Shifu quietly and sincerely prayed in his mind that they were hiding in an area in the latter category. He took out an orange from out of his robe and shoved it into Po's clammy paws.

"If I were to guess, Po...I would say...I don't know.", said Shifu in a defeated tone.

Po's ear twitched and he looked at his master, then back at the vast space as he peeled the orange,"W-Well...it can't be far. I mean, even for a peacock, he has to be close in order for an invasion to work, especially if he has an army."

"Hm. Good point. Then he must be either amongst the mountain's forest or..."

"Or...", asked Po as he finished the orange in one bite.

Shifu took off, but maintained a slow speed until Po caught up with him.

The two ran as fast as Po's short legs could carry him as Master Shifu led the way to a small lake on the outskirts of the forest just outside of the village gates. Just on the other side of the lake was a long camp imbetween the body of water and forest edge filled with wolves eating and laughing. On the far end was a large tent surrounded by well armored wolves carrying heavy axes.

The two pandas crouched down low behind the bushes and studied the camp.

"So what should we do now, master?", whispered Po.

"Hmm...", Shifu looked around the camp and noticed the largest tent."No doubt Fuhai is in there. It would be wisest to cut off the head before disturbing the body."

"Er...so sneak attack then? Soooo...stealth mode?", mumbled Po.

"Of course.", Shifu said as he raised a brow at Po."Why?"

"I...don't do well in stealh mode, master.", he shrugged.

"Obviously, Po. But if you care for Tigress, you will do your best. And by that I mean that you will do the job we have set out to do.", stated the master.

"Yes, sir.", nodded Po in a serious tone as he turned back to look at the army."So how are we gonna do this?"

"You and I will run through the army and knock a few out in our path. When they chase after us we will split up after running one hundred meters and meet back here. Then once the wolves have weakened their defenses, the guards infront of Fuhai's tent will likely move away in confusion. That is when we sneak in through the back way of the tent and strike down the peacock. Once he is dead the rest is self explainatory."

"Got it."

"On three. One. Two. Three. Go!", stated Shifu as the two sprinted around the lake and ran passed the large tent, rushing through the army in a blur, moreso in Shifu's case but Po was still running as fast as he could which was quite fast, as the two punched and smacked the backs of heads and temples. Once they ran through the army Po began to count the meters in his head. He glanced back to see the wolves chasing them and let out a small whimper from intimidation. But once he remembered why he was doing this, and once Shifu gave him a disapproving glare, the panda shook away the fear. Suddenly the two pandas darted away from each other with Shifu running acrossed the lake with his intense speed.

Po ran and ran until he could run no more. He ended up limping up to Shifu panting and wheezing as he fell onto his stomach.

"'Salright?", asked Shifu.

"'S-Salright...", panted Po.

Shifu let out a rare chuckle and looked back at the army who were slowly disappating. Shifu was right, the guards by the large tent began to walk away from their post in the confusion to see what was happening in the far off wild goose chase. Po still panted, but he managed to get up and start running first as Tigress' weak form entered his mind once again. Shifu's eyebrows raised in surprise, but he smiled and caught up with his student.

The master and student slowly made their way to the rear of the tent and stopped so that Po could recover. Once he did, they nodded to each other and jumped into the tent with murderous intent in their hearts. What surprised them both was what they found. There was no peacock. There was no bed or any sign of this being a residential tent. What they did find however was a group of large wolves. Twelve of them in fact, each of them more ferocious than the last. Before the pandas knew it they had large blades pressed against their throats.

A voice laughed menacingly from behind the group of elites."Awww. Poor Shifu. He thought he could outsmart his opponent and avenge his fallen daughter."

The pandas both growled in hatred as they heard the voice, but they gasped as the wolves parted to reveal the peacock. There in their midst was the peacock. The. Peacock.

"Such sad, sad, faces. But you are about to become apart of something beautiful. The maddening of an entire nation.", he breathed the last sentence as Shen stared off into the distance with his one good eye.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 6/ Agitating The Water

There she lay, eyes closed, injured, barely alive. Yet she breathed normally as if she were merely in a deep sleep. The doctors had redone her stitching with more durable surgical thread, they cleared her windpipe of any obstructions such as blood, and had injected into her bloodstream nutrients to promote blood production and antioxidants to keep her from getting an infection under such extreme conditions.

Her friend sat beside her, coiled in her seat beside the bed, ever watchful for any change in her condition, bad or otherwise, and her sharp snake hearing kept intune to the silence around them incase of intruders. The snake gave a quiet sigh when her mind registered how long it had been since her sister had been injured. And how long it would be until Fuhai attacked. They had two hours left. And with Tigress in such a fragile state, Viper was unsure if they would get out of this one alive. After all, the tiger had been the strongest warrior of the Jade Palace until Po showed up. And she had saved their hides on dozens of occasions.

Viper slid the end of her tail over the tiger's forehead in a motherly carress. She spoke quietly, as if it was almost a prayer,"Tigress, please wake up soon. I don't want to worry you, but things are about to get very bad. I know it's obvious with Fuhai's deadline, but...I keep getting this feeling in the back of my head. Something isn't right. Something is being kept secret from us. And I just...can't wrap my head around it...", Viper looked off into the distance with concerned eyes and a furrowed brow as her soft blue orbs shook in thought. She looked at Tigress again and grimaced a little,"And I know you're injured sister. And normally I would say you should rest. But I've seen you with much more painful injuries than this, more life threatening ones at that. And we need you right now. It may sound selfish, but it's the truth. So please...wake up."

Suddenly, Viper's vision began to blur. She shook her head frantically as she felt the urge to sleep come over her, but it was too much. She softly called out the closest awakened person before she passed out. Her eyes closed slowly in her chair as she saw Mantis hopping inside the room and move his lips infront of her. She could not hear him. Finally her unconcious mind overtook her concious one and she fell asleep.

Viper opened her eyes to Tigress' room. But it was...different. Everything was pure white. And Mantis no longer stood infront of her. She lifted her head and turned around to see a young Tigress sitting at the edge of her bed looking right at her. The snake gave a soft sigh of relief.

"Tigress, you scared me half to death! You haven't done the Mind Drag of Quan Yu in years!", hissed Viper.

The young Tigress smirked and shrugged,"Sorry, I couldn't enter your mind, I was too weak."

Viper sighed again and nodded,"How are you feeling?"

"Pissed."

"Aside from that."

"Honestly I feel fine. Though there's this tickle in the back of my throat.", she said as she rubbed her throat softly with squinted eyes.

"You're joking.", said Viper in a deadpan expression.

Tigress blinked and shook her head,"No, I'm not. I tried to wake up from a lucid dream but for some reason I can't. It made me really mad, so when I sensed your mind I decided to ask you about it."

"Er...I see...", mumbled the snake as she averted her eyes away from Tigress.

"What happened, Viper? Why can't I wake up?", she asked as she attempted to meet the snake's eyes once again.

Viper looked at her and slithered out of her chair and onto the bed with a concerned expression. She rubbed her tail over the young Tigress' arm and looked her in the eyes.

Tigress began to get worried,"Viper..."

"Tigress...Fuhai snuck into your room and...Tigress, he slit your throat.", said Viper with a few tears in her eyes.

Tigress' eyes widened as she felt her throat,"A-Am I okay? I can't be dead, I mean, I'm talking to you!"

Viper sighed and rubbed the tiger's shoulder with a nod,"You're fine, Tigress. But your body is still very weak. It took a whole pint of Po's blood just to get you stable."

At this, Tigress blushed."P-Po's blood?", Viper smiled softly and nodded again,"He...gave me his blood?"

"Yes, Tigress, in a way. Master Shifu kind of stole it from him at first, but Po didn't even show a hint of objection. He just sat there until master took as much as he needed to get you stable."

Tigress felt her paw over her forearm where her veins would be, letting a smile creep over her face as the fact of him giving his blood to her washed over her being. It was an odd, yet pleasant feeling. To have the blood of your love coursing through your veins. Tigress sighed softly."How long until Fuhai attacks?"

"Two hours."

"Where are the others?"

"Mantis is in your room, I had called him in when I felt you pulling me into your mind because I was in charge of guarding you. Crane is continually sweeping over the Palace incase Fuhai tries anything again, and Monkey is watching over the villagers.", said the snake.

"And Po?", asked Tigress with a hint of concern in her voice.

Viper blinked as she looked at the floor in thought,"Uh...that's actually a good question. I...I don't...know.", said Viper as she looked back up at Tigress.

The Tigress cub stood up, turned around and looked straight into Viper's eyes."Tell me, Viper, what did Po do when he found out my throat had been cut?"

Viper smiled again, not realizing Tigress' worry."Well it's actually pretty cute. See he's the one that found you. He screamed for Master Shifu to come to your room, and when the rest of us got there your throat had already been sewn up and Master was taking Po's blood. But then Master Shifu left and asked Po to follow him and, this is the cute part, Po went into his room before he left and put his panda doll in your paw."

Tigress smiled for a moment, but looked at Viper again with determination in her eyes,"Have you seen him since?"

"No. In fact I was going to ask Mant-", she cut herself off as she realized what Tigress was saying,"Oh my god. Po whispered in your ear before he left, he said 'I'm going to kill that bastard once and for all'.", she looked at Tigress,"You don't think-"

Out of no where Viper awoke as Tigress kicked her out of her mind, yet a ghost of Tigress' voice echoed in her head.

_'Go now before he gets himself killed!'_

Viper panted as she shot up and looked around.

"Hey, you okay Viper? You seemed to be having a weird dr-", Mantis was interuppted.

"Where is Po?", asked Viper.

"I-I dunno, Master Shifu took him to the Hall of Heroes last I saw."

Viper shot out of her chair and rocketed out of the room down the hall, calling back to Mantis,"Stay with Tigress until I get back!"

The snake knew this might be impossible for now, seeing the situation that had begun to reveal itself, but someone had to stay with Tigress and Viper didn't have time to stop and explain eveyrthing to the bug. She slid out of the doorway to the barracks and flung herself into the air at top speed, causing her to grab an impressive amount of air as she coiled and twisted to extend her hangtime to search for the avian master.

"Crane!", she yelled when she could not find him. She glanced down as she began her desent towards a tree near the courtyard, but was caught by Crane's talons before she made any contact with it's branches. She looked up and slithered around his body til she reached his back, causing the bird to shudder and blush."Crane, have you seen Po?"

"Yeah, he took off towards Fuhai's camp with Master Shifu!", he called back from the roaring of the wind.

"What? Why didn't you say anything?", she yelled back.

"Because Master Shifu is with him, so Po will be fine! And if master wanted us to go with them he would have said something, so we're obviously supposed to stay here to guard the villagers!"

Viper huffed in aggravation. Crane was right, and it was their duty as Shifu's students to respect his wishes. But still...she couldn't shake this feeling that something was wrong,"I think we should go and help!"

"Why? And I thought you were guarding Tigress?"

"Mantis is guarding her right now! And I-I can't explain it, but you have to trust me!", she replied, coiling her body around his chest and neck a little more snuggly.

Crane sighed and glanced back at her,"Fine, but if they're doing okay then we're coming right back!", he yelled before breaking his continuous circle around the premises and flying towards the direction of the invisible path the pandas had created.

They trekked through the air at top speed, the bird's sharpened eyesight scanning through the trees below. It took merely a few minutes for him to spot the camp, and his skillful eyes widened as he saw his master and the Dragon Warrior being tied to a couple of trees. They widened even more when he noticed Shen.

Dumbfounded and panicky, Crane immediately turned around and landed a few miles away. Viper gave him a concerned look when she saw the look in his eyes,"What's wrong? Wasn't that their camp?", she covered her mouth with her tail and gasped,"Please don't tell me they're dead!"

Crane immediately shook his head, still staring at the ground in thought as he tried to think of what to do. The formula of strategies had just changed dramatically and the reactions to actions and their own reactions to Fuhai's reactions had seeped into Crane's mind. It all made sense now, but the bird was too frightened to say anything.

Viper turned his head towards her with her tail to look into his eyes with even more concern,"Crane...what's going on? Are they okay?"

Crane looked back into her eyes with his own shaking irises. He managed to whisper,"We're a test..."

Viper blinked and looked at him with more confusion,"Sorry?"

Crane immediately took off with Viper still clinging to his body. He flapped his wings as hard as he could back towards the Palace to get there as fast as possible. Viper looked back behind them as the camp vanished before her eyes behind the tall trees. She turned her head with effort from the harsh winds to look back at Crane."What's going on?", she yelled.

"Shen is still alive!"

"What!"

"He's still alive! Fuhai's revenge was all just a ruse to keep us preoccupied with Po's situation! The peacocks used us as test subjects for their plan to rule over China, but he's going to do the same thing to all the other Kung Fu masters all over the country, so he needed us to stay out of his way while he prepared! And by doing so he'd be killing the Dragon Warrior at the same time, thereby weakening the morale of the rest of the masters! It's a classic kill two birds with one stone scenario!"

Viper ignored Crane's weak attempt at a dark joke and trembled from the news. Once they landed, Viper immediately slid off of Crane and slithered almost lazily into the barracks."Wh-what are we supposed to do?"

Crane followed her,"We'll have to evacuate the villagers to the safe zone. Unless Fuhai already knows about it.", he muttered that last part bitterly to himself in aggravation of the peacock's seemingly surperior mind.

Viper moved her body into Tigress' room and slid into her chair, ignoring Mantis who was sitting there by knocking him to the floor. She looked at Tigress for a second, then coiled her body and laid her head down, just staring at the floor. She looked so defeated and depressed. It killed Crane to see her like this, but he could understand how she felt. Fuhai had captured two of their strongest warriors and severely injured the third. How would they survive this? Their leaders were down for the count and Fuhai had been predicting their every move.

Crane closed his eyes in thought. They can't just give up, they just _can't_! If only they had more masters with them, then things might not be so bad.

The bird opened his eyes and looked at the snake once again, then his eyes trailed over to Tigress. Mantis was talking to him, probably asking him what was going on, but Crane wasn't listening. He was just looking at Tigress. His sister. They had been the first two of this generation of the Furious Five, and no matter how Tigress acted, she was still a sister to him. But now he saw her as something else. A woman. A woman who had been given the chance at happiness only to have it ripped away from her in an instant. But that wasn't going to happen to him. He closed his eyes once more.

"Viper, please come with me.", he said softly before turning around and walking into the hall. Viper watched Crane and slid out of the chair to follow him. Once she met him at the other end of the hall, he spoke up."Listen, uhm...I know that...this isn't the best time to be talking about this, Viper. But I need you to know something. In case I don't come back."

"C-Come back? From what, where are you going?", she asked, her blue orbs had become wide with fear and concern.

"I'm going to go warn the other masters, Viper. I'm sending Zeng to Gongmen to have him talk to Masters Croc and Ox, but I'll be going to the temple to the North to find more masters. We need as much help as we can get and there isn't much time. You, Mantis and Monkey need to evacuate with the villagers immediately. Go with them and take Tigress with you. When you reach the safe zone, wait for one week. If I don't come back, then...", he looked away from her for a second and cleared his throat, then he looked at the floor infront of the snake."Just...travel to Gongmen City where it's safer."

Viper had tears in her eyes,"B-B-But!"

"No buts, Viper. I don't like it anymore than you do, but this is what has to happen and I won't let you die.", he inhaled deeply,"There's one last thing. Viper, I've been feeling closer to you now lately, and it's time I told you...that I've had some very strong feelings for you. I'm sorry that I'm saying this now, but I don't know when I'll get another chance like this again.", he slid his gaze from the floor up her body until he reached her face. She had tears in her eyes, heavy tears. And now they were falling.

She jumped up and coiled herself around his throat, and for a breif moment Crane thought she was trying to strangle him. But he was instantly corrected when she kissed him in the front of his beak.

They stood there for a minute in silence with their eyes closed. What seemed like hours to them merely took sixty seconds, but to them it was a glimpse into heaven when hell was burning around them at this very moment. Regrettably the snake broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes with a whisper,"You had better come back to me."

Crane gave her a smile and whispered back,"Count on it."

She uncoiled herself around him and watched him walk out of the barracks, following him to the doorway to the outside. She followed the sight of the bird as he took off to Zeng's quarters on the other side of the Jade Palace, then kept watching as the two birds flew into the air a minute later. She continued to gaze at the larger one with fear and worry until her eyes could no longer recognise the white and black and red among the bluish sky. She allowed a few small tears for a moment along with a prayer to the gods for what was about to come. She then turned around and slid back towards Tigress' room to inform Mantis of the news.

Meanwhile with Po and Master Shifu.

The two had been tied to a tree just as Crane had seen. Shifu's ear twitched slightly when he heard the flapping of Crane's wing and closed his eyes to listen to it fade into the distance. Po would not close his eyes. He couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes he could see Tigress in her bed in her current state. And that made him mad. And his anger made him struggle. And his struggling made the wolves bash him in the side of the head with a mallet or the hilt of a sword.

Po panted under his raggedy breath watching Shen and Fuhai who were now sitting under a shaded tent. Shen was looking over a map while Fuhai was playing Weiqi with one of his-er, Shen's generals. Shen had just finished trash talking the two pandas and told them of his plan to mentally unstabalize China's population.

The bigger panda had a defeated look on his face, but inside he was seething a feeling of determination. Slowly he had begun to continuously slide his dull claws over the tree bark behind him. It wasn't exactly fast work, but his claws were becoming sharper and sharper after every minute passed.

"Master Shifu?", he mumbled.

"Yes Po..", replied the aged master solemnly. He seemed to have accepted this fate just as Po had, and at the moment Po had no idea whether or not Master Shifu was faking it or not. He was a very good actor.

"Mind if I ask you something?"

"Might as well.", Shifu said as he opened his eyes and looked around them at the small army.

"You saved Tigress, and I'm forever grateful for that. But if you had displayed your speed like that with my father..."

"You are wondering if I could have saved Mr. Ping...", when Po nodded slightly, Shifu sighed."No. I could not. Your father's neck was too narrow, too fragile. Tigress' is much more durable and thick. I am sorry, Po, but there was nothing I could do. I am so sorry...", Master Shifu then lowered his ears and head both as tears gleamed in his old eyes.

"It's alright, master...thanks...", said Po softly.

"You two are so...pathetic.", chuckled Shen as he limped over to the two. Shen had survived alright, but he did not survive without some scars to prove it. It was much like Po's illusion but much less grotesque. Shen's left eye was gone, yet he merely kept it shut. His left wing was severely damaged, but the bones at the rear of his wing had been replaced with metal. His left leg had been crushed, but it had metal bracings around the joints to keep him stable. He now sported a long metal cane.

"I suppose we both have different definitions of pathetic, Shen.", said Shifu as he eyed the peacock that came ever closer.

Shen cackled softly,"Yes, I suppose we do. But see, my sense of pathetic allows me to do this!", he smacked Shifu in the face with his cane. Shifu groaned in pain as a few of his teeth were knocked loose from the colliding metal.

"You leave him alone, Shen! Your grudge is with me!", yelled Po.

"My grudge is with every Kung Fu master, panda, you are just the catalyst that also serves as the icing on the cake that will be my revenge!", spat Shen as he pointed his cane at Po.

Po growled under her breath as he glared at Shen down the smooth surface of his cane. He spoke up in a low and dark voice,"Mark my words, Shen. One day there will be someone more powerful than any of us, and they will stop you. And by every god in the heavens that I know by that time I will do everything in my power and theirs to make sure your death is as slow and painful as possible."

The look in the panda's eyes coupled with his venomous words sent a chill down Shen's spine, and it showed. But the peacock recovered and spat at the ground before turning away from the two.

He limped back to the tent,"Well now uncle, who shall we kill next? I suspect that the To Ri Ire Temple to the South would be a very good start.", smiled Shen.

Fuhai would not look up, he was focusing on breaking down the wolf general's defenses."No, we would do better taking out the Temples in the North in the Fubuki Mountains. Their masters are much more formidable."

"But uncle, our powder-"

"_My _powder.", interuppted Fuhai.

"Y-Yes, _your _powder would not work as well in those mountains! Shouldn't we draw them out first?", asked Shen with a confused expression on his face.

"You question my judgement?", replied Fuhai as he looked up at Shen furiously and stood up,"It was _I _who started this Ku, it was _I _who found you, _I _who repaired you, and it was _I _who got you this far! If it were you alone you would have died in that ocean! And if by some miracle a _weak _minded fool such as yourself survived by some miracle, you would have simply tried to take your revenge on the panda by blasting him with more of your inferior cannons! Then what? You would have had an army of Kung Fu Masters after you and worse yet you would have gone to me for help _again_!", Fuhai was in Shen's face now, and Shen was almost cowering, looking up at his uncle with wide eyes.

"Y-You are right, uncle, I...I am sorry. I will not question your judgement again.", bowed Shen.

"See that you do not!", spat the gray one before he swung back around and sat down to continue his game.

Po and Master Shifu glanced at each other, and for the first time since Shen had told them of the peacock's plans, they felt hope, true hope within themselves. The peacocks had a weakness.

Each other.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch.8/ The Water Retreats From The Sand

The Valley of Peace. Far from Peacful. And the town we see is far from being a Valley itself, yet it still holds the hollowness that every valley requires. The town we see is now barren and deathly silent, despite it's long history of life and happiness. A soft wind catches a few lanterns that hang from the buildings they are attached to, causing creaks and groans to emit throughout the lifeless village. A small rag hanging from one of these lamps clung on for dear life to complete it's task. The rag was black, and it's job was simple. To stay in it's place for a fortnight. It's place of occupation; Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu. It was tradition in the Valley of Peace. When one would pass on to the next world their next of kin must hang a black rag over the lamp outside to alert the surrounding residents of their loved ones' passing. It was a respectful way to get the word out.

At first most people who had not seen the murder came rushing into the shop to show their sincere condolences and to try and abolish their fears that the Dragon Warrior was dead. But when the crowds came, they met no one. Slowly realization crept upon the entire populace. It was one of relief yet nonetheless a realization of sorrow.

It was not a sorrow for one such as a king, but it was far from a sorrow of any normal citizen. The Valley of Peace had lost it's greatest cook. So great in fact that he had become legend, especially after word of his son's accomplishments became common among the lands in China. But of course the Great Master Chef Ping was not only the creator of the delicious, always loved Secret Ingredient Noodle Soup, but he was also a master at tofu, and he held under his belt the Dragon Ladle, if only for a short time; which was the greatest honor any chef could receive.

Some lit incense. But many who could not afford to show their respect in such a way did their best to carve small wooden idols of the goose, paint pictures, pick flowers, and some even made their own attempts at Mr. Ping's famous soup and set it on their windowsill as if his spirit might come by one night to give them closure or perhaps his blessings.

Sadly since the hour of his death no one had seen the goose since. And once Master Crane had told everyone to pack their things and come to the Palace, everyone brought with them their wooden idols, pictures, and flowers so that maybe they could give them to the goose's son for comfort and honor.

But the chance never came. Soon every citizen found themselves being hearded out of the back ways of the Jade Palace and into the mountains; all led by Master Monkey, Master Mantis, and Master Viper, who surrounded and guarded a tented carriage that which no one was allowed inside save for the Jade Palace staff who carried it or a nearby doctor. No one dared ask questions nor did they utter a word to their protectors. But they all wondered in worry about where the Grandmaster and Dragon Warrior could be, not to mention the other two masters of the Furious Five.

Little Nagu, a young female sheep from the Sagi family, was only seven years old. But she knew a lot. She wore a sky blue robe with a red sash and a tattered yellow ribbon behind her ear. It did not match her clothes, it never did. But her parents always wanted it like that incase they ever lost sight of her. Her parents were very protective of Nagu, and this was not one of the rare times that they would loosen up on their guard. But with the tent directly infront of her, her curiosity could not be overcome. She looked up at her mother, who held her hoof. Then she looked back at her father behind them, who was helping an old pig hobble to keep up with everyone else. The little yew spoke up to her mother with her bag in hoof.

"Momma? Can I go give the masters my present now?"

"No, Nagu, they are very busy. Maybe when we stop.", her mother replied, keeping an annoyingly tight grasp on her daughter's hoof.

"But they'll have to guard everyone if we stop, and I'll never get a chance!", replied Nagu with almost a pout.

"No Nagu.", said her mother in a slightly louder and determined voice,"I don't want you to leave my side!"

"B-but I'm just going up to the masters and back! They're strong, they'd protect me if something happened!"

Nagu's mother sighed and contemplated this. She looked down at her daughter, then back at her husband. Then finally she set her gaze at the tent a few feet ahead carried by six pigs."Alright, but be quick. And if they tell you they are busy, do not continue to disturb them. Come right back.", hesitantly the older sheep let go of her daughter's hoof as Nagu ran up ahead.

The young sheep ran around the large pigs and winced when they looked at her, even though they held no anger in their features. Nagu was smart but she was never the outgoing type, her parents saw to that. Even when her friends begged her to come with them to learn Kung Fu at the Jade Palace, she was too shy to do so. And in her mind she was currently regretting every request that she denied, wishing that she had said yes at least once. Maybe then she would be guarding the other villagers at the sides and rear of the crowds with her friends instead of being suffocated by her parents.

With a deep breath and a heavy sigh she spoke up to the snake that was coiled around the short pillar at one of the corners of the square tent."Excuse me, Master Viper?"

Viper looked down at the sheep and slithered her long body down so that her tail still clung to the pillar, yet she was now suspended before the child. Viper returned Nagu a reassuring and comforting smile when the sheep gave her a nervous look."Hello, what may I help you with?"

"Uhm, would it be okay if I gave you a present to give to the Dragon Warrior? I don't know when I'll ever see him, so I was hoping you could give it to him.", the sheep said...well, sheepishly.

Viper giggled softly, trying to hide her worried thoughts for her brother, if only for the sake of this child,"Well of course. What is it?"

At this, Nagu's face lit up with a small amount of confidence,"It's a picture...", she started opening the bag strapped around her shoulder and rummaging around inside. After a few seconds of trying to take out the small picture while glancing at the road she had to walk, the sheep took out the frame. She then presented it to Viper. The snake had a warm smile for this picture. You could tell it was a child that painted it, but it was still very well done. And it was easy to tell what the yew drew. It was a picture of Po and his dad, paw in wing, along with the rest of the masters at the Winter Festival in Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu. A crude but touching replica of the somewhat famous painting.

"That is a very pretty picture, miss...?", asked Viper.

"Nagu. Nagu Sami.", smiled Nagu."And thank you, I worked on it for hours."

"Well it shows, you did a very good job. I'll be sure to give it to the Dragon Warrior when he returns from his mission.", she gently grabbed the picture with her mouth and slipped it into the opening of the tent, placing it on Tigress' chest along with the panda toy. When she retreated her head she saw that Nagu had hung back to meet her mother, but waved at the snake ecstatically. Viper smiled and nodded to them before slithering back into the tent along with the rest of her body.

The snake suddenly let out a hiss as she noticed Mantis sleeping at Tigress' feet.

"Mantis, get your ass up and go outside! It's my turn to guard Tigress!", snapped Viper.

Mantis grumbled and stood up from his napping place."Yeah, like you're not gonna be sleeping."

"If I do sleep it'll be to talk to Tigress, now move!", hissed the snake as Mantis hopped out of the tent grumbling even more. Viper shook her head and coiled around herself before looking at Tigress. She laid her head on Tigress' left foot and stared at the picture Nagu made. Such a wonderful time. Full of laughter, fun, family...and one of those poeple would never celebrate that holiday with them ever again.

With a deeply sad sigh in rememberance of the old goose, while continuing to gaze at the painting, she pondered about the masters in the picture. Who would come? Who would actually be of help? And would they succeed?

Viper blinked wearily and looked at her sister with a yawn, yet she did not move her head. She saw this coming, Tigress wanted to talk. So Viper closed her eyes and tried to mentally prepare herself for Tigress' onslaught of inward yelling at the current situation.

Meanwhile with Po and Master Shifu.

A rumbling filled their ears. It shook the very ground under them as they marched towards the town, small cannons in their arms. The wolves marched in rows of six, all panting heavily as they carried weaponry, medical kits, and other various combat supplies. The two peacocks walked amongst the wolves with the pandas behind them in chains. Each panda was restrained by four wolves on either side to make sure neither of them moved disobediently.

"Would you please shut up!", shouted Shen at the panda behind him.

"Hey, it's not like it's my fault! Give me some dumplings or something and I'll stop!", whined Po as his stomach rumbled louder, almost loud enough to drown out the panda's voice.

"Get him some rice or tofu or something! I'm getting sick of his disgusting bodily noises!", spat Shen as he looked forward again.

One of the wolves came up to Po and shoved a bowl of rice in his paws. Before the wolf left for his rolling kitchen tent however, Po started complaining again.

"Hey I may be a panda, but I'm not a slob! I need chopsticks!", demanded Po in a spoiled brat tone. It took all of Shifu's will not to laugh or crack a smile at Po's ruse. So he kept his eyes closed and his ears laid down on his head to keep from hearing him as well. And it helped to some extent, it looked like he was severely annoyed with Po from this expression.

Shen's eye twitched in anger, but Fuhai kept his expression solemn and poise."Get him some chopsticks, wolf.", stated the older peacock without looking back."He may be a Kung Fu master, but we must allow our prisoner these simple dignities."

The wolf produced a pair of chopsticks infront of Po, who took them gratefully and began to eat.

"Sho...", said Po through a muffled voice,"Whosh th bahshard tha kill mah dahd?"

Fuhai rolled his eyes and spoke in a bored tone,"Why should I tell you?"

"I fot ju shed ju woodn deny shimpo dinidees?", mumbled Po with his cheeks full of rice.

"If you must know, he is a wolf. And he is in this army. That is all you need to know.", said the gray one.

Po swallowed his rice and whined,"Aw come on! Not like I'm asking for you to point him out, just give me a name!"

"Don't worry master, I am not afraid of this chicken shit.", growled a wolf holding onto Shifu's chain.

Fuhai sighed,"You poor fool..."

"What?", was all the wolf could utter. He was soon answered as Po shoved his chopsticks into the wolf's eyeballs. The wolf quickly howled in pain and whined noisily into the night, letting go of Shifu's chain before huddling on the ground as a broken and usless mass. Shifu used the slack to wrap around another wolf's throat while Po smashed his bowl into another wolf's face, shattering the glass and knocking out the wolf at the same time. Po picked out a particularly long and thin peice of glass out of the wolf's muzzle as the unconcious canine fell to the ground and began to pick his own locks with the makeshift pick. The panda dodged and swerved as the wolves that held onto his chains attempted to strike him or pull on his chains.

A smile found the large panda's face when his cuffs unlocked. Po immediately got out of the iron grips and tossed the glass pick to Shifu.

"What are you all doing? Kill them now! Now now now now now!", screamed Shen furiously.

Shifu, while continually strangling the wolf as the red panda stood on the canine's back, began picking his lock. A not too bright wolf decided to take care of Shifu by swinging an ax down at the Grandmaster. But though he succeeded in drawing blood, the attacking wolf soon found himself in shock as he gazed at his ax that had sliced through Shifu's chains at the cuffs, going straight through like butter, and was now embedded in his ally's spine. The already half dead wolf let out a soft whimper of extreme pain before collapsing and giving in to death's grasp.

Shifu took advantage of this moment of shock by jumping off of the falling wolf and shoving the glass pick into the attacking wolf's forehead. The attacker did not see the attack coming, he did not see the glass. He simply saw his world fade into blackness until he too succumbed to death.

During the second wolf's fall, Shifu, while still in midair, performed a forward flip and double kicked a wolf in the face that had attempted to sneak up behind the Dragon Warrior, who was currently busy fending off five seperate wolves, three of which were armed with two swords and an ax.

Po displayed an impressive amount of skill by blocking and dodging every single attack that came his way. The large panda smacked away the swords that swung downward at his body and slammed a foot down on the flatside of the ax that tried to cut him at his waist. The Dragon Warrior slid down to his knees, slid his right leg around the wolf to his right that had been attempting to slice him with a sword, and tripped the canine before jamming a fist straight into his throat. If the wolf was not dead he was definitely out for the count.

"There's too many of them!", called out Po as he dodged another swing of a sword with a roll.

"Really, I thought this would simply be a walk in the park! A small wolf army, who would have guessed?", spat the Grandmaster in a sarcastic manner as he landed over a dozen tiny kicks into the face of the wolf that carried Oogway's staff on his back.

Po rolled his eyes after punching one wolf in the nose, instantly breaking it's snout."So, we retreat?"

"Yes! For now!", the red panda twirled his staff and smacked five wolves that stood imbetween he and Po and the opening to the woods on the outskirts of the town.

The pandas quickly took their chance and retreated into the darkness of the foliage. The army of wolves began the chase, but every canine stopped when they heard the new command.

"Do not bother, wolves, they will be back.", stated Fuhai."Continue the march."

"What? No, we need to kill them now!", shouted Shen.

"Patience, Shen. 'Revenge is a dish best served cold'. And believe me when I say that every master in China will soon feel the icy touch of our blades.", said Fuhai maniacly as his gray eyes gazed into the darkness of the opening of the forest.

In the deepening darkness of the forest we turn to another darkness. A much colder darkness, yet it still whispered hope. Yet it also yelled desperation.

In the dark of an old rotting palace rose an unrecognisable figure. His green eyes shot open from a second rapping on his and his master's door.

_(See "__Searching For The Answer Chapter 19: Mettle of Honor__" for details)_

"Koru, get your ass at the door and see who it is!", called an old voice from upstairs, making the figure scowl.

"Yes, master.", the figure dashed to the door and swung it open, revealing the feint light coming from the town's covered lanterns to peer into the home. The figure glared at the weary looking bird that had distrubed his sleep and narrowed his eyes with a soft growl,"What do you want?"

"I am terribly...sorry to disturb you, but...I am Master Crane and...I need to speak with the head of this, er...'dojo'.", panted Crane as he eyed the building with uncertainty.

"Master does not wish to be disturbed at night, come back tomorrow at dawn.", said the silvery white tiger. But as he began to shut the door, Crane put his wing in the way.

"Wait! It's an emergency!", wheezed the bird."I've come all the way from the Valley of Peace and we need your help!"

Koru's whiskers twitched as he eyed Master Crane. He suddenly turned around and walked away from the door."Come in."

Crane walked uneasily into the darkness as he watched the tiger walk up the stairs at the other end of the building. He heard a grumbling, then a loud smacking sound. A small growl, then another smacking sound followed by more grumbling. After a few minutes the tiger came back down followed by another figure who was just as large.

"Close the damn door, it's freezing!", hissed the figure behind Koru.

Crane shut the door as...'requested', and attempted to look at the two infront of him.

"Koru you idiot, light some fucking candles! Our guest can't see like we can!", said the master.

Koru bit his lip angrily and did as told, lighting a few candles all about the almost empty room. Crane could now see the master, albiet dimly. He was a tiger as well, he was even white like Koru was. He had yellow eyes, he stood at about 6'4", a little shorter than Koru himself, he had a muscular figure, wore purple and silver slacks and a dark blue open robe that lazily laid over his torso.

"I am Master Tetsutsue, what do you need?", asked the master curtly.

Crane sighed and bowed to the master in respect,"I am Master Crane of the Furious Five, who guard the Valley of Peace, home of the Dragon Warrior. We are in need of your assistance and we would be forever grateful if you aided us in our plight."

"What is the problem? We have our own troubles, you know.", grumbled Tetsutsue.

"A dangerous pair of peacocks named Fuhai and Shen have come and threaten to cause everyone in China to go insane with their Chotsugai Backlash Powder."

"Shen? Lord Shen? You mean the peacock that you and your band of misfits had supposedly killed in Gongmen City?", snapped Tetsutsu. He turned around and walked back towards the stairs,"Solve your own damn problems."

"But if he succeeds, he'll come here as well!", shouted Crane.

The master turned on his heels and lunged at the bird, grabbing him by the neck. Not enough to strangle him, but enough to intimidate him properly,"Then I will kill them both! They will stand no chance in this snow, why should I sacrifice my hide just for your precious Valley?"

"Because-", coughed Crane,"If they come here, they'll bring their wolves as well. You'll stand no chance. Even if you're accostumed to the cold, Shen's wolves will out maneuver you at every turn in this terrain."

Master Tetsutsue let out a growl,"I will not be outmaneuvered by those pups!", he spat before throwing the bird to the floor."Now waste no more of my time, and leave.", he pointed to the door.

Koru glanced imbetween the masters and something inside him twinged."M-Master, if it is your wish I will go to the Valley of Peace."

"No Koru, they've got their problems, we've got ours."

"Like what? Training for some invisbile threat when hardly even a bandit will come to this town from such constantly harsh weather? I'm going.", growled Koru.

"Fine, you've been a thorn in my paw for too long now anyway. Wish I'd never taken you in, you ingrate!", growled back the master as he walked towards the steps once again.

"May I have my bo, master?", asked Koru in almost a dry tone.

He got no response, only the sounds of his master's steps. But as Koru turned to leave, a bo staff shot through the ceiling and embedded itself into the floor infront of him. He grasped it and sighed in relief, having no want to part with the only comfort he'd ever received in his training. Koru pulled the staff out of the hole and nodded to the bird.

"Thank you, Master Koru. Come on, let's go.", the bird opened the door and flew out, followed by the tiger, who did not bother to close the door as he ran through the snow.

With the seemingly never ending snow covering the tiger's tracks, we see that the snow does not appear to be snow anymore as the light from the white material fades into a sparkling green grass. To raise our heads up to the sky we see a sky without a cloud in it's presence. In their stead hung an almost full moon with thousands of stars adorning it's heavenly home.

Four sets of prints, no matter how unrecognisable, were now present in the dewy grass. At the top of a hill stood four figures. One, a rhino in a green robe. Tall, proud, tough. Another an antelope in a blue robe. Swift, evading, persistent. A raccoondog in a golden robe. Intuitive, precise, light on his feet. And a sheep in a teal robe. Short, strong, misleading.

The four stared at the Valley of Peace before their angry eyes. The masters had all heard what had happened to the poor Master Chef. Their good friend and son of the great Dragon Warrior, another friend and comrade. Three had come to pay condolences. But once they met with Master Antelope, they all came for another reason.

Master Antelope had defended the land of China in the central area close to the Imperial City. He had defeated many foes, yet some managed to dodge even the most unevadable and quick thinking master. One in particular he had met, one had specifically put a chip on the master's shoulder. A psychotic bird that was wanted for the most heinous crimes in the experimentation of peoples within the Imperial City. The bird's name was Fuhai. And once the name found the antelope's ears, his hooves yeilded to no one but the path that changed direction. His anger almost unbridled, it took the convincing of the other three masters who met him on the conjoining roads to at least slow to a normal run; not to mention allow them to accompany him in his plans.

And now here they stand. Proud, majestic, and furious. They have one purpose now. And those thoughts echoed in their minds as they stared into the distant leaf covered trees that bordered the Valley of Peace.

Justice.

The four Kung Fu masters raced down the hill with their thoughts filling their heads with fantasy on who would murder the peacock, and how they would help the Dragon Warrior and The Furious Five in any way they can to acheive the feat. With the trampling of hooves and feet, they entered the large group of trees, unknowingly heading in the direction where two certain pandas were now resting. Where one in particular was having a rather frustrating time with his cuffs.

"I mean did you not even stop to think to grab a key from our captors?", shouted Shifu as he sat on a tree stump and continued to pull at the cuff on his left wrist. The wolves had been smart in at least one instance; they kept the cuffs tight enough so that even Shifu could not slip through the iron. Po was behind him a few feet away pacing back and forth impatiently.

"Well I had plenty of sharp metal around me that would have been _perfect _for picking the lock, but ya see most of the time there was a problem; it was all aimed at my _head_!", retorted Po as he pointed at his skull and continued to pace.

Shifu rolled his eyes and massaged the palm of his paw in an attempt to continue to strategize another way out of the restraints.

"And what happened to that glass pick I tossed you?", said Po, turning the blame around.

"You're lucky it worked on _your _cuffs, Po! The edges were twisted and cracked by the time you gave it to me.", the red panda sighed and stood up off of the shallow stump, picking up his staff."No matter, we must meet up with the rest of the Five. No doubt Mantis can pick the lock.", he said walking in the direction of the Jade Palace.

"Whoa, the rest of the Five? Please don't tell me you can't feel Tigress' Chi anymore!", said Po in almost a worrisome whimper.

Shifu smiled softly and turned his head, yet not his body to look back at the panda."You truly care about my daughter, don't you Po?"

"I'd give my life for her.", said Po as if he was commiting to a promise.

The smile on the master's face broadened as he turned his head forward again."Then you will be most relieved to know that I did not mean Tigress.", the red panda kept walking as Po now followed him.

Po sighed in relief,"Thank god! Who were you talking about then?"

"Crane has gone to find reinforcments. I could hear his wings beating back at the camp. No doubt that is what he has done. The rest have most likely left the Jade Palace for the safe zone.", said Shifu, not looking away from the distant road of the forest floor.

"Awesome! Gonna have an all out Kung Fu master war!", shouted Po as he pumped his fists into the air in excitement. To his surprise, Shifu did not look annoyed. Instead he let out a soft laugh.

"Yes, Po. I must admit that even _I _am looking forward to this meeting. There has not been a battle like this in ages."

"Who do you think will come?", asked the Dragon Warrior in fanboy mode.

"I do not know. Yet no matter who comes, I think Fuhai is in for an unpleasant surprise once he reaches the empty Palace.", stated the master.

"How so? They wouldn't find masters there now, would they? Everyone's gone!"

"Mmmmmm, not exactly.", smirked Shifu as his eyebrows arched deviously.

"Huh?", was all Po could say when his eyes looked at the back of his master's head.

"How do you think I could have left the Palace for Gongmen City, with all of it's antiques of magical properties and valuables, without any defense at all?", the red panda looked back at the giant panda without stopping his pace.

"Uhhhh. I guess I just figured you entrusted the kid students?"

Shifu chuckled,"No, no, though they are trustworthy they are still children, Po. I could not allow them to defend the Palace in my place. So long ago it has been since 'he' has actually been needed in such a way.", Shifu shook his head in amused thought.

"Who?", blinked Po, the two pandas walking out of the trees.

Shifu turned around and looked at his student, his eyes almost glowing with wisdom and glory from the moonlight,"Why 'The Jade Spirit', of course."


	9. Chapter 9

Ch.9/ Tsunami Shadow

The two pandas traversed in silence into the barren town; they were unsurprised yet relieved that not a soul could be found in the town they knew so well, but they could clearly see the massive crowd that was no doubtedly the wolf army slithering their way up the Thousand Steps. Po had kept his mouth shut the entire time, and in all truthfullness Shifu was both impressed and proud that the bear had not begun pummeling the master with questions about the mysterious being Shifu had dubbed 'The Jade Spirit'. In fact with his history of Kung Fu knowledge, Po would most certainly crave every detail like he did every meal he recieved.

But no question came. And Shifu's curiosity began to turn to worry. After all, this was very unlike the Dragon Warrior. Shifu continually threw Po an occassional glance as they made their way down the deserted streets. Po looked like he was thinking, and thinking hard. Perhaps he was trying to piece together history that he had heard, that maybe he would have learned it on his own without even figuring it out. But he would not. There was no text about the spirit, no scroll nor painting. Shifu could remember the day that Oogway had told him about the spirit. A day that still sent shivers down the old man's spine.

_Master Shifu and Oogway were standing in the Dragon Grotto; it was pitch black outside and with naught but a few candles sitting around in the shallow cave, a rather uncharachteristicly spooky lesson had been planned by the turtle._

_"You wish me to what?", exclaimed the middle aged red panda with his eyes as big as his ears. He was wearing his red robe and had considerably less wrinkles in his face._

_"Now Shifu, do not feel so shocked. It is a necessary exercise for any Grandmaster of Kung Fu. After I pass on, you will be the one to succeed me. And I do wish for you to be as prepared as possible on that fateful day, my friend.", the old turtle smiled with his shaking staff at his side._

_"Bu-but this seems so extreme! To lose your entire arm, an-wait! You are a Grandmaster, and you still have both of _your _arms!", shouted Shifu out of fear, pointing to the turtle in his obvious ploy to get out of the lesson._

_"Shifu, you still think with your head and not with your heart. Now trust your master. And put your arm in the dragon's mouth. And grab the jewel that you see in it's clutches.", Oogway waved his arm towards the statue, then stepped from stone to stone with the aid of his staff to get out of Shifu's way and watch the event._

_Shifu gulped hard and stared at both of his paws. Perhaps for the last time. But which one? He gripped and lossened his fists and with careful thought, the choice was obvious. The left one, of course. The red panda hopped up to the dragon's claw and began to outstretch his arm, but paused when he heard an almost unhearable sigh come from the turtle. Shifu glanced at Oogway, not moving from his position. But then he straightened up on the stone he balanced upon, and looked at his paws once more._

_"Think with your heart. Not with your head.", said Shifu under his breath. He looked at his master again, who smiled wide and bobbed his head once in a nod. Shifu returned the grin with a small smile and outstretched his right arm. He gazed at the barely visible gem on the back of the dragon's tongue, and grasped it's cold surface gently in his warm shaking fingers. It was all he could do to stretch out his fingers enough to get a good grip on the purple jewel that was as smooth as a pearl. It was a miracle that he was able to pull it out, yet it could also have helped that the gem was oval shaped and rather flat; but it was still much too wide for the red panda's comfort._

_Shifu pulled the precious stone out of the dragon's mouth and smiled a small smirk at his master for his accomplishment._

_"Now why do you still have both of your arms, Shifu? I told you that you would lose an arm if you took out the jewel, yet here you are with all four limbs. Explain.", said Oogway in a fake strict voice. And for a moment Shifu thought he was serious. But Shifu quickly sighed in relief and widened his smirk into a smile before answering._

_"I used my right arm, master."_

_"And how, praytell, does that make a difference?", Oogway smiled a little and raised a brow with his claws and staff behind his back._

_"Because the left paw has the vein that connects directly to the heart. And I decided to keep my heart in the stead of my head.", his smile grew wider when Oogway laughed softly._

_"No."_

_Shifu's face dropped,"But! I-I I mean, I-"_

_"You did not lose an arm because there was no risk. You had no reason to be afraid of any defenses. Of course you used your right instead of your left.", Oogway added with a small shrug and a glance to the ground._

_"Master forgive me, but I am confused.", Shifu said with his drooping ears and sloping shoulders._

_"Do you know what you hold in your hand, Shifu?", Oogway hopped to the stone in front of the statue as Shifu hopped down onto the same surface. Shifu felt the gem. It was certainly peculiar. Purple, so clear it could have been made of glass, and the shape was almost in the form of a clam._

_"No master, I am afraid that I do not.", said the panda. The turtle took the gem into his claws._

_"Good. I am glad, for that would have been spectacular. It has no name.", Shifu's face turned like Po's would years from now in the same spot; a bored look with drooped eyes and an almost dropped jaw hidden in his closed maw. The turtle tossed the jewel into the water, and it strangely made no noise when it hit the surface before them. Shifu's eyes widened as he watched under the rippling water."He, however, does have a name."_

_The water turned completely black all throughout the small pond. And suddenly Shifu's world turned dark once the blackness found it's way over the few lit candles. After the darkness became evident, Shifu stood and stared into nothingness; he prayed for some form of light in this moonless night. And he got his wish when a small orb of red light appeared in front of the two._

Shifu visually shivered, making Po raise a brow."Master, is there something wrong? I mean, it's not exactly cold out here."

"Yes Po, I am fine. Though I was about to ask you the same thing,", replied Shifu with his own raised brow at the apprentice as they walked up the back way to the Jade Palace where they would find themselves at the barracks when they reached the top.

"Hm? Eh, it's nothin.", Po looked back up the stairs.

"I would prefer to be the judge of that, panda.", Shifu's eyelids narrowed his gaze at the larger creature.

Po inhaled a deep breath and let it out silently,"I feel guilty, master. This was all my fault. If I hadn't have flown off the handle and chased Fuhai, then this would never have happened. And Tigress wouldn't be hurt. And just thinking about what that peacock did to her...", Po made a growling noise,"I want to throttle him!", he made choking motions in the air in front of him.

"Inner Peace, Po. Inner Peace.", chimed in Shifu with his continuous inward grunts up the shallow stairs. However long he had become accustomed to these steps, it was still a chore to try and make it up the small juttings of stone with his newfound restraints.

Po breathed slowly and closed his eyes,"Right, right, Inner Peace...Inner pe-oof!"

Shifu let out a small sigh with lowered ears as he stopped his progression up the steps, awaiting the panda behind him while Po got up and rubbed his nose from where his snout had made contact with the step.

"A word of advise, panda: Those who have trouble with stairs on a regular basis do not do well with their eyes shut on said terrain.", said Shifu as he and Po continued their ascent.

Po grumbled a 'yes master' out of embarrassment when the two found the top.

"So how are we gonna get to the others without being found out by the army?", asked Po, scratching his stomach with his gaze on the distant Jade Palace.

Shifu stroked his beard in thought,"Hmm."

Po looked at his master, then glanced back at the closed doors of the barracks,"Uh Master Shifu, if this is gonna take a few minutes do you mind if I get a snack?"

"Panda, this in no time for your disgusting habits! We need to find...", Shifu's voice trailed off with his newly formed plan. The old panda's features now revealed a smile,"For once Po, you may be onto something."

"Huh?", Po gave Shifu a look of confusion, and a look of amusement was his answer from his master.

A few minutes later...

The wolves searched high and low, sniffing about every inch of the Jade Palace in search of the villagers and the remaining masters that they had yet to encounter. The tracks were fresh, but the scents were so strong and there were so many that it became too confusing to distinquish one from the others.

Just as the wolves' sweeping turned to the corner to the path that led to the Dragon Grotto, one wolf's ears perked up. And he raised his head to sniff the air. That led to another doing the same, and another and another. Soon most of the wolves began to sniff the air and turn their gaze towards the direction of the barracks. And before the peacocks knew it, the army was emptying the courtyard and arena and running towards the dormitories.

"Wait- where are they going!", shouted Fuhai."Get back here, you dogs!"

The peacocks pushed through the giant crowd of canines and made it into the barracks to see what the commotion was. They found many wolves packing into the kitchen, all of them acting ravenous.

"What do you fools think you are doing! This is no time to be _eating_!", spat Shen as he smacked one wolf with the upward swing of his cane into the canine's jaw in his emphasizing. The wolves made room for the two birds and tried to let their looks of shame hide their feelings of fear,"Search the rooms, find whatever idiot who decided to have a midnight snack!", many of the wolves in the kitchen, particularly the ones with bacon grease still glistening their lips, rushed out of the kitchen in search for those responsible,"Do not worry uncle, we will find the path to the refugees when we torture the fool who stayed behind,", smirked Shen with a gentle wave of his half destroyed left wing.

Fuhai was silent, still looking at the pan of what was once filled with freshly fried bacon. The older peacock raised his lowered head and flew out of the small window of the kitchen; a tough but doable accomplishment, but with his realization he may not have the time nor the luxery of using the front door.

Fuhai stood on the roof of the barracks and scanned the Jade Palace. The palace was in utter silence, save for the dozens upon dozens of wolves still roaming about the courtyard mumbling to each other. And thankfully all of his wolves were black or brown furred, otherwise he would not have caught the white blur out of the corner of his eye. His orbs locked onto his suspisions and made his eyelids narrow in anger when he watched the pair running passed the Sacred Peach Tree and into the mountains,"There they are! Go, the pandas will lead us to the villagers!", he shouted, and the wolves ran in the direction he was pointing.

Po and Shifu were running up the trail towards the safe zone, both seemed very tired and quite ready for a break from all of their running. And Po did not help matters with his constant complaints.

"Are we...there yet?", he panted,"I thought we were going to the Dragon Grotto!"

"We are, now silence!", spat Shifu.

"But this is the long way!", retorted Po.

"Exactly! It will give us much more time if they follow us directly! Now come!", exclaimed the master as his small feet tredged on faster, making Po groan and give a feeble attempt to press onward.

The two finally stopped once they reached their destination, and Po immediately dunked his head into the small waterfal outside of the cave. Shifu hopped up to the dragon statue and put his right arm into the dragon's mouth. He pulled out the jewel and sighed inside with his eyes staring at the now invisible glass stone. Leaping down, the Grandmaster awaited for Po to come walking up behind him before tossing the stone into the water. Again it made no sound.

Po raised a brow as he saw Shifu's strange movements, for he had not seen the stone himself in the light of the full moon."Uh master, what's uh...uhhhh...", Po's jaw dropped when he saw the water turn black."M...master, wh-wha-wha-wha-wha-what...is..._THAT_?", he shouted. But though his voice was raised in volume, the sound it made was quite muffled. As if he had just screamed into a pillow. And that was the new form of their conversation; complete, muffled, barely comprehensible speech.

"_That_, Po, has a name.", muffled Shifu. Po only glanced at his master. It felt like he had cotton in his ears or something, or at least it sounded that way to him.

Po put his smallest finger in his left ear and rubbed around inside,"Uh, so this...thing is the Jade Spirit?", he replied as the red light formed before them. Po looked at the large eye and flinched,"He uh...really doesn't look all that...'Jade-y'."

"Dragon Warrior, show respect and apologize!", snapped Shifu. Po had to admit, he was starting to like this feeling of silence. Shifu didn't seem as threatening with his voice sounding so far away. But the Grandmaster's eyes of fury that were reminiscent of previous moods passed made Po instantly press his fist into his palm and bow low to the Spirit in an apology.

The Spirit had now taken form, and it was in the shape of...well if Po could describe it, he would say it was as if someone had taken the head of an ox child and stuck it on the body of a fully grown lizard. But it had no tone nor detail at all; it was just this inky mass of a life, with one large red light of an eye in place of where it's face should have been. In fact the only reason Po could even tell that the Jade Spirit was even there was the fact that it's weird eye had vaguely illuminated the Dragon Grotto.

_**"**__**Si ingen sannheten og fortelle nei løgn, gis offer og beskyttelse vil forlenge"**_

"What the...what'd he say?", mumbled Po to the red panda to his left.

"It is a lost language in this part of the world, Po. His people spoke in riddles. If we can solve it, then he will help us. The riddle is,'Speak no truth and tell no lies, penance be given and protection will bide'.", the Grandmaster kept his expression solemn and poise.

"Speak no...penance...", Po looked down for a moment, then looked at Shifu, who had kept his eyes on the figure."Do you know the answer?"

Shifu closed his eyes, then turned his head and opened them to Po,"I do. But I have already given it once before. And one soul cannot answer the Jade Spirit's riddle twice in a lifetime. You must answer him.", he said with a soft wave of his left paw, his right unwantingly following. Shifu's ear then twitched as he clearly heard the wolves a few miles away; inside the red panda was thankful that the Jade Spirit's barrier of silence only stopped at the edge of the grotto and held no power over his accurate hearing, otherwise the panda beside him would surely have panicked from the pressure of the actual sound."Hurry, Po. Hurry and give him your answer. We do not have much time."

Po shut his eyes and thought for a minute; however long the minute was, it seemed to last forever to the bear, but gratefully that time in his escape into eternity allowed him to gracefully accept the true answer. Po opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He closed it with a smirk to the Spirit. And then he got on his knees. And he bowed in a complete kowtow of respect, and thought his request to protect the one he loved, and the innocent lives that could be lost.

The Jade Spirit's eye turned to Shifu, who gave him and smile and a bow. Not a bow as low as the one Po had performed, but one of complete respect nonetheless.

The eye now shrunk down and split itself into five seperate small eyes over it's forehead. The eyes then turned to jade, as did it's claws and horns. But the ink that made up it's body remained. And the two Kung Fu masters were now shown a beautiful green light to replace the scarlet one.

_**"Din sinnet klarner ingen men egen kropp. Jeg gir til ingen men dine tanker"**_, said the Spirit in a now gutteral tone, for the soundless barrier had now disappeared.

"Ugh. I apologize, but could you please use some other language? Or at least not sound like a drowning man?", asked Po in a shudder.

"Po! Even after that you still show disrespect!", shouted Shifu.

**"His arm bears the same stripes as yours now, he gifts no dagger of poison."**, said the Spirit. It's voice was no longer gutteral, but it still remained deep and almost monstrous.

Po sighed in relief,"Thanks. Now what was it you were saying before?"

**"Your mind clears none but your own body. And I yield to no one but your thoughts, Dragon Warrior."**

"Sweet! So does that mean you can basically grant wishes?", asked Po ecstatically. Shifu facepalmed and shook his head.

**"The sea holds all life that inhabit it, though I fish merely in the bank."**, the shadow then gestured to the cave around them.

Po nodded in a somewhat diappointed manner."Yeah, okay. I hear ya. Thank you for your services.", he bowed to the Spirit.

Shifu's ear twitched once again as the pads of the wolves' feet could no longer be ignored.

"Po, we must leave.", Shifu darted to the edge of the cave to look out at the path behind them. The black figures in the distance were gaining speed.

"Yeah-okay.", the panda glanced at the master before bowing to the Spirit again,"Please defend our path and keep every soul with evil intent from passing."

**"With the shedding tear of my heart, I give you my veins."**, the Jade Spirit returned the bow of respect before Po and Shifu ran out of the Dragon Grotto to continue their quest.

The two pandas ran as fast as Po could run, which with their small rest allowing them to regain some energy, they had created a speedy pace.

Po glanced back behind them to see the wolves darting in and out of the rocks that blocked parts of their path. Then he looked ahead, and he smiled when he could see the feint glow of torches far up the mountain.

"There they are!", exclaimed Po with a broad smile.

"Yes, Po! We will rejoin them soon! Now faster!"

"Yes, master!", yelled Po. The muscles in his legs tightened even more than before, and his lungs pushed and pulled the air around him with even greater force. The great panda was soon passing his master and running up the path with a new vigor unlike any he'd ever felt before.

Shifu smiled and caught up to the Dragon Warrior to match his speed.

And with the running of the pandas kicking up dust on the ground behind them, we now see the dust form into droplets of splashing water, where others have been running through small waterfalls over the cliffside.

The villagers were now running. Not from fear of bandits or soldiers in their sights, but from fear of how close they were. For while the others were busy looking ahead or behind them, Mantis was watching the progress and happening of the far off Jade Palace. And when he saw a large amount of smoke rise up from the sky, he found the base of the pillar of smoke to be made of the Jade Palace Barracks, which were aflame. So now they were running. Running as fast as they could without anyone getting left behind.

"Viper, has she calmed down yet?", yelled the bug through the wind that he felt from atop of the travelling tent.

"Yes, but we need to get her some herbal tea! Go find Mr. Tso Bai, he should have something in his stock!", exclaimed the snake before bringing her head back inside the tent with a sigh. Tigress was now awake, and sitting up. Her arms and legs were now strapped down so that she could not move them, for she had previously kept trying to leave the tent. Suffice to say, she looked very displeased. Viper looked at the tiger and frowned,"Tigress, I'm sorry, but Crane and I couldn't do anything to help. I'm sure they're fi-", she was interuppted by the vicious and hateful look from Tigress' eyes. Viper looked down,"Okay, so I don't know if they're fine. But we have to hope, sister."

Tigress opened her mouth and started to speak, but her voice was so weak you could barely hear it. Yet Viper could hear her perfectly, making her wish she had gone deaf."If something happened to Po, I will never forgive you."

Viper closed her eyes and nodded, holding back her tears. She opened her eyes and inhaled deep to try and keep strong,"I need some fresh air. Please drink the tea when Mantis brings it to you.", she slid out of the opening to the cloth door and climbed up to the top to hide her tears of guilt from anyone's prying eyes.

Tigress lay there frowning and regretting her words. She sighed through her nose, closed her eyes, leaned her head back on her pillow, and opened her eyes once again to the fabric that was her current ceiling. She could not begin to describe how much she was stressing in worry from not knowing where Po was. And the headache she suffered from right now was only a miniscule taste of the pain she would feel if anything happened to him.

Never in her life had she felt so useless. Even in Bao Gu they would use her great strength to hold up wooden beams when they collapsed; until they were repaired, that is. And even though she felt like a monster, she still had a purpose there. At this time she had no purpose. No task, no job, nor any mission. Just lay there and heal.

The tiger looked at her restraints and inaudibly huffed. Then she closed her eyes in defeat. And slowly she drifted off to sleep.

A moment passed in her dreamless mind, but when she awoke her yellow and red eyes took note of how dark it now was; meaning all the torches held by villagers and guards had been put out. She wondered how long it had been since she had fallen asleep. Tigress twitched her nose with quick, short inhales of breath. In her sniffing she noticed three things. That Viper and Mantis were seemingly at either end of the camp, that Monkey was sitting on top of her tent, and that there was a vaguely familiar scent that sent a painfully angry chill up the back of her neck. Worse yet...it was very close.

Tigress tugged at her restraints hard, growling in her weakened status. Suddenly she heard a quiet laughter, and she went rigid at the sound. That sickening, hateful, demented laugh could have only come from one person.

The feline's glowing eyes turned to the end of her tent. God how she hated being so weak, it made her perceptions waver. For at the end of her tent behind the flaps stood a feint shadow. But then the shadow slid through the broadening gap like a bout of thick smoke, and it took form in front of her once the thing's feet touched the foot of her mattress. She did her best to growl as loud as she could, but it did nothing but merely stunt her voice even more.

"Good evening, Master Tigress.", whispered Fuhai in a mocking bow."How goes your recovery?"

Tigress narrowed her eyes at the bird and bared her fangs,"You have five seconds to leave, or I'll?"

"You'll what?", he whispered, then took a small step closer in his crouched position,"Oh please do tell me what you will do, because it would be a most facinating Kung Fu technique that could get you out of this mess, hmm?", chuckled the peacock quietly as he stroked her jaw with his feathers. Tigress hissed at him and attempted to bite at his feathered hand, but he withdrew it much too quickly.

"You make me sick!", spat the feline.

"And that is supposed to insult me how?", asked Fuhai dryly. He smirked and produced a blade from his robe; exactly like one of Shen's feather daggers. Tigress chuffed and cringed.

"What are you going to do to me?", she tighted her paws around the sheets of her bed in anger.

"My dear, you must understand that this is not about you. When has it ever?", Fuhai examined the blade in his grasp, gently carressing the smooth side,"I mean just look at you; a hardened, bitter, cumbersome female who does not even begin to try and make her race proud. Why should anyone care about you?"

Her ears flattened against her head and she looked down at her lap. He was right.

"But...but Po..."

"Ah the Dragon Warrior, of course. He does care about you. Or does he?", Fuhai gazed at Tigress with a mixture of venom and pity.

She blinked with her brows stapled together,"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Let's just say that a Mr. Po Ping has been hiding something. Something that will make you all see him in a completely new light. Especially you."

"Why should I believe you?", hissed Tigress.

"Because your master has been arranging it this entire time.", whispered the peacock slowly. Tigress' eyes widened in disbelief and hate.

As the eyes of hatred burned, so did the torch of the incoming forces for good.

The four masters stopped at the front enterance to the village, with three of them panting slightly. They gaped in horror at the flames and smoke. And with no battle taking place in their sights, they assumed the worst: The Dragon Warrior, The Grandmaster, The Furious FIve.

Dead.

"That-that-that...abomination!", spat Master Antelope before he ran off through the streets, followed closely by the other three. The four kept their stare at the burning palace barracks. As the hooved master sprinted up the stairs far ahead of his comrades, he muttered under his breath a swear,"By every drop of blood in my body, Fuhai, I _will _bring you to justice!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: I will not apologize for my absence, for it was not really an absence and I owe no one anything here aside from an explanation. Not long ago my dog had to be put down. Aside from his age, he suffered from blindness, a heart murmur, diabetes, and arthritis. So his suffering had to end. Despite this comfort that I knew he would no longer feel pain I foolishly felt remorse and depression from this event. So heavy my heart I could not even type a single word not involving the furry thing. But I have returned, if this is the wording you would choose to use. Rejoice if you wish, or curse the ground I walk on I care not. But the message has been delivered. Also I have news. In light of the bitching certain reviewers have accomplished, I have created a forum page for my own works. Please visit it if you wish to complain or compliment.**

** forum/Stories_of_SilverTigerdirector/111968/**

Chapter 10: Is This The Final Tide?

A furry back leans against a tree, it's fanged mouth huffing silently in fatigue with it's jade eyes gazing at the sight it spied on. The avian above the creature did not need to hide from being so high up, but the bird was nonetheless nervously adjusting his straw hat every few seconds to make sure his face was hidden from view on this sturdy branch he stood upon. The two warriors had been running and flying almost nonstop down a mountain this past day, and only a mere few hours had gone by since they had made their transit through the string of villages in the Valley of Peace that bordered the Quin Yun Forest.

There were only three villages left until they came upon the village at the bottom of the Thousand Steps. But now that they had arrived at the most recent village…it seemed an impossibility.

The two's gazing of awestruck horror had not gone unfounded; their eyes scanned the masses for hopefully an ultimately low number, perhaps this was almost an illusion. After a few minutes of counting the numbers of heads that led brown and black furred bodies that lugged iron and steel forged cannons behind them, the conclusion was just to feel helpless; the count was uncountable.

The two watched and stood still at their safe distance on top of the tall hill overlooking the crumbling village of post mortem. The hundreds upon hundreds of wolves poured through the rural town, killing the few villagers that managed to stay alive after the onslaught of cannon balls had destroyed their homes and massacred their family members.

They would each flinch internally when they saw a bunny or sheep decapitated, or when a pig that was pinned under the wooden beam of his own home was unimaginably slaughtered and eaten alive starting with the flabby feet poking out from under the beam. The two warriors continued to watch; and an unspoken bond came between them. They could nothing here, not with the number of enemies so high. So they watched. And they memorized faces. They studied who killed and who died. And they made their silent promise. Each wolf would pay for this.

Master Crane could not watch anymore when a bile was forming in his stomach from such a disgusting view. The bird soared away in the opposite direction of the village to keep the wolves from discovering them. The tiger noticed the small flash of white amongst the green out of the corner of his eye, so he soon followed post haste.

The tiger found Master Crane sat perched on a large rock beside a river that lazily drifted past them. Koru knelt down with his staff laid by his side and splashed the cold water on his face.

"That….that was…", he looked away from the water that kept his head somewhat sedated from his own sickness to the bird, "How do we get to your home now?"

Crane, who had kept his eyes on the water, looked down to his left to study the feline beside him. There was no way he could carry such a large creature, not with such a great distance. It was an insurmountable idea in an array of disillusionary thoughts that were currently plaguing the bird's mind as of late. They had seen a few dozen wolves here and there in their traversing. And they had rid China of a few troops on their way when they saw the all too familiar armband with Lord Shen's insignia on the side placed on the right arm of each and every wolf.

But he never would have thought so many would be coming together so close to his beloved home. At least not this soon…

Crane lifted his beak to the other end of the spring, then turned his gaze to the sky that gapped the trees. He could see the legendary mountain in the distance and sighed in thought. But then his eyes widened when he noticed a slight bit of smoke, like the wisp from a candle light, floating away from the gigantic rock.

For a moment he panicked. In his mind came thousands of images that centered around the idea that his friends were dead, his master was dead, and his loving snake kidnapped and tortured. He refused to think she might be dead, he wouldn't allow the idea to even cross his mind. She can't be dead.

And in that moment of bitter hope he saw relief find his mind when he noticed the tiniest flickerings of torch lights higher up in the mountain. His eyelids shut, and he gave in to his ever coursing concentration that would forever try to probe his emotional mind and keep him mounted on logic in the stead of heart. His nostrils let pass a breath of a sigh, and he peeked through his hat once more to look at nothing in particular past the high verdure of the trees that stood in front of his view of the far off Palace.

"Master Koru…can you swim?", asked the avian. The tiger's ears flattened and he gave a grimace to show his utter distaste for whatever idea this bird was about to suggest.

And though eyes of distaste shimmered in this night, elsewhere lied eyes of another tiger filled with moreover disgust…

"Why should I believe you, you lying piece of hog phlegm!", spat Tigress, who kept tugging on her restraints desperately to claw this peacock's head in two.

"Oh you do not have to believe me, Master Tigress. But whether you do or not, it is truth; your master arranged a marriage between you and the Dragon Warrior long before the panda was even chosen by 'the universe'. Think about it; two masters, one of the last of your kind, and the single last panda in China getting married. It would bring this country into a celebration to worship Kung Fu which would rival that of the Emperor's reign. So your title was given to him, as the husband in the marriage would take any treasure the wife kept in her possession. Even a high ranking title such as this. So you see even if Oogway had chosen you my dear, the panda would have taken it all away. You, as a woman, who is not fit to even be given the honor of being a candidate.", mused Fuhai.

"Then why even fill my head with those dreams! Why would Shifu tell me such things if they would just be taken away!", asked Tigress in a hushed and almost cracked voice.

"To make you strong, to control you!", seethed the peacock, "He was _hired_ by the orphanage to _handle_ you. And handled you have been. Do you not see it woman? You are a puppet."

Tigress looked at her lap and squinted her tear filled eyes, "But…you said that this wasn't about me…", she snapped her head towards the bird, "And it sounds as if all of it is just that!", she growled with a smirk of satisfaction at catching Fuhai's lie.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So selfish a creature. Even with his lies, the red panda could not raise you correctly.", he murmured almost absentmindedly to himself while examining his blade yet again, "It may seem that the puppet is the center of attention, madam, yet who is the one who collects the admission fees at the end of the day? The puppet master."

"Whatever, if you're going to kill me get it over with already.", she growled in as loud of a voice as she could in trying to alert someone. Anyone.

"My dear what makes you think I am going to kill you?", laughed the peacock as he slid his blade under her vest and sliced away the straps that held it closed, revealing her bra.

Tigress' eyes widened and she fiercely attempted to release herself from her bonds. The leather stretched and frayed like never before, but they would not yield.

"You even dare to touch me, I will rip off your dick and stuff it down your scrawny throat!", she said in almost a roar. She flinched when her own throat now burned; and she coughed up a bit of blood.

"Awww, looks like you've broken a stitch Master Tigress. A shame that will not be the only stitches broken…", he said in a soft maniacal chuckle with his blade softly sliding over the midsection of her pants.

Tigress struggled even more so as she attempted to chuff, but coughed up another bit of blood and gagged from the painful sensation. Fuhai grasped her jaw from under her chin and showed a devious smile.

"Now, now, Master Tigress. You musn't attempt another noise lest you bleed into your lungs. And we wouldn't want that.", he whispered seductively into her ear, "Unless, of course, you do not love him enough to stay alive for him."

The tiger's eyes widened once more. She bit down on her lip so hard that the blood from her throat mixed with that from her now fresh puncture. She shut her eyes tightly and lowered her head.

"Are you going to be a good little cub and stay still?", whispered the gray bird.

Tigress' head bobbed slowly and timidly, and she refused to open her eyes. Yet she opened her mouth and let out a half whisper. It was so weak that Fuhai had to lean in even closer than he had already done.

"What was that?", he smirked in wait. He was finally about to take this female's virginity, thereby crushing the panda's psyche even more than he would if he killed the bitch.

"If you do then at least sedate me…please. I wish not to be…with anyone else but him. Please grant this to me…", her words were like music to the peacock. He almost cackled, but became satisfied with a small chuckle as to not alert the feline's friends from their forced slumber. Even with his sedation their sleep would soon end. He straightened up with a large grin on his face.

"But of course, my dear. I am nothing if I am not a gentleman. My war is with the Dragon Warrior, not with you. So yes…", he said softly while pulling out a small needle and tiny jar of purple clear liquid, "You will feel nothing…aside from this.", his wing swiftly dipped the needle in the jar at an unseeable rate of speed, and he feathery hand flung the needle into Tigress' arm with nary a second.

And Tigress went limp. And her head fell back on the pillow.

The peacock stood there in satisfaction as he began to undress the female. But his vision blurred as soon as his hands lay on the waist of her charcoal pants. He panted softly in panic.

"I…I know this sensation….surely not….", he glanced at the Tiger with a seething glare, and flew away from the trickster to get out of her range as quickly as possible. He did not even tarry to wonder why he noticed a small blur of white fluff move out of the corner of his eye. He began to even smile in relief when he soared above the encampment.

But it was much too late.

Fuhai flew higher than the trees of the large clearing that was the cliff on this side of the mountain, as undetectably silent as his descent. However once he found himself out of her range, his mind fell under the initial spell that was the Quan Yu Mind Drag. And though he did escape the clutches of Tigress' mind, his consciousness was much too weak to keep his dreams from finding him.

Within seconds the bird dropped into the small forest, his body smacking against branches with sharp ends cutting his flesh. The bird ultimately fell into a thorny bush, laying in pain he had yet to realize was soon to be upon him.

And though pain surged through the skin of one foe, it thrived internally in the opposing champion.

Po wheezed and coughed hard in an attempt to catch his breath. He still ran as Shifu did, yet his right arm continually found the mountainside to keep his body from collapse.

Suddenly he stopped and his knees met the ground. His irises stared at the dirt before him in worry.

Though impatient he was, Shifu stopped yet again on the great slope to turn around. He looked at the bear disapprovingly.

"Po I realize how long we have been running, but we must keep going before the peacocks get to the civilians! Shen may not be able to get to them, but Fuhai still carries the ability of flight.", the red panda stated in his attempt to encourage or motivate in some fashion.

"Something is wrong, master!", panted Po in a reply. Shifu walked to the panda and eyed him as if looking for injuries. Before he could speak, Po continued, "Fuhai, he…he's already there!"

"What?", the red panda exclaimed. He looked at his staff for only a moment, then gently put his paws on Po's shoulders and glared in a strange sympathetic manner, "Po listen to me very carefully. What _exactly_ did you tell the Jade Spirit to grant you?"

Po looked up at his master with a partially confused look about him. His ears laid back slightly while he continued catching his breath and began to realize just what Shifu was asking him, "I…I didn't know that was possible, you said-"

"I know what I said, Po, now tell me what you asked!", he replied fervently. His clawed paws almost dug into the black shoulders of the bear, but neither winced uncomfortably.

"I just thought about how I wanted to protect Tigress!", he blurted out in a panic.

"And did he say anything to you-anything you could not understand that made you feel queasy!", the old man was gripping the younger panda with enraged mannerisms. He spoke as one would to their enemy and gazed at Po as if the monochromed thing had grown crystals out of his ears.

"Yeah now that you mention it…", he swallowed hard as he thought of the words, "Oh god…", he clutched his stomach desperately to rid himself from this feeling.

Shifu shut his eyes and turned around, "Po, get up."

The bear nodded in obedience and the two began a slow jog without another word. Po on the other hand was immensely confused at what seemed to be happening with his body and mind. But Tigress' safety was his main concern, his highest priority. He would push through it all. Be it blood or bile.

And as thoughts coursed through every brain cell in the panda's mind, four others were preoccupying their minds with reaction. _Thrust, dodge, smash, punch, dodge, dodge, dodge, head butt, kick, smash._

A random but necessary thought process for the four Masters.

Now with his white fur matted in blood, a fact he was grateful for that not a drop was his own, Master Sheep looked over at his companions to determine their status in their own fights before he pursued any others.

Master Rhino was pushing back an entire horde of wolves- at least twenty of them- with a large wooden board while at the same time knocking out the occasional canine that passed his way.

Master Antelope, while fast, was staying in one general spot. The key word though was general. The antlered Kung Fu master flipped around the threatening blades and kicked away any weapon he felt too close to his proximity from the dozen enemies around him. His hazel eyes burned with hatred at this army that seemed to mindlessly follow anyone with deep pockets. But he let not his emotions get in the way of the fight. If he did, Master Antelope did not show it in the least aside from his anger.

Master Raccondog had his hands full to say the least. Amongst the now smoldering pile of ash and charred wood that was now the Jade Palace Barracks, the ever intuitive and precise master was busy searching the rubble with great haste while at the same time dodging every wolf that came his way, never even stopping to counterattack once. But the raccoondog seemed to eventually find a small smile in his search. For he had not found a drop of blood in this place yet- well unless you count the blood from the broken nose of a wolf that had foolishly attempted to tackle Master Raccoondog only to slam his face into a jut of wood.

Master Sheep, seeing that his colleagues were of a just and steady pace to victory, searched for the one called Fuhai. But descriptions can be misleading. And unfortunately for the sheep, he felt that misleading mistake strike him in the back of the head.

Now some of his blood was in this crimson cap of his. He turned around from his spot on the cobblestones to look up at his blurry attacker. He saw the chuckling figure raise a long object. And as the object came closer, his vision went black.

And as the vision left the sheep, so regained the vision of a feline who just so happened to fall victim to being saved.

Tigress blinked wearily and blearily at the small thing on her chest. It was a mere yew sitting on her torso. And strangely enough the yew looked extremely relieved. Tigress placed a paw over her own head and groaned at the painful headache once she sat up, inevitably causing the yew to slide back and sit on the bed by the tiger's knee. Apparently the sleeping agent used on her was still very much affective inside her bloodstream. But for some reason her sedation had been shortened greatly…

"Master Tigress, are you okay? I didn't know if I should have woken anyone up since you've been kept secret in here, so I had to make do.", mumbled the yew shyly.

Tigress, who had opened her eyes more, examined the sheep child for a moment, taking said moment to collect her rambling thoughts about her last idea to trick Fuhai into making her sleep so that she could torture him, and her new thoughts of how the young one had apparently saved her by performing mouth to mouth resuscitation on her to get the blood out of her lungs, "You…you saved me?", the yew nodded after the feline's raspy question, "Th-thank you. And thank you for respecting my privacy by not letting anyone i….in here. But….", Tigress rubbed her throat from the amount of speaking she had to do, but continued in a whisper, "But please go and get Master Viper okay?"

One hour later…

Viper, Tigress, and little Nagu sat in the tent around a small lantern placed on the center of the plush mattress. Mantis and Monkey had been woken up as well and continually searched the perimeter for any hint of Fuhai's presence, but there was no sign of the bird.

"So do you think it to be true?", asked Tigress softly as she continued to stare at her warm cup of tea in her paws that rested gently in her lap. Her eyes glistened mournfully in the flickering ember. And though her beautiful fur resonated a great hue of a shine, her face was darkened and depressed. Such a thought to be married to someone, even the one she loved before she was even given the choice was bad enough. But the idea that Po was in on it? It drove a stake in her heart to think about it, and she attempted to avoid it. But there was no avoiding the idea in this conversation.

Viper had coiled herself around Nagi as requested by her parents, who were now sleeping in their tent that now sat mere feet from Tigress' carriage. But though Viper held the now sleeping child in her scaly form, she felt such anger at Tigress' seemingly delirious continuance at this accusation.

"Tigress, you know Po would never do such a thing! Fuhai is just trying to get in your head, and use you to get to Po! It's so obvious!", whispered the snake frustratedly.

"I know that!", softly snapped Tigress. She looked down at her cup once again and sighed through her black nose deeply "But…when it comes to Po, I guess I just…cannot help getting paranoid and sensitive about every fact of his being, whether it be truth or fabrication."

Viper allowed a warm smile to dilute her frown, yet it did not leave completely given the current state of things, "Now sis, I'm glad you're awake and doing better. But you have to focus on the here and now. We'll work on the issues with Po later, right now we have to worry about the villagers."

Tigress' heart sank at the thought of Po once more in such context. Was he alright? Was he looking for her? Would she be able to look him in the eye if he showed up somehow through the army of wolves and a pair of malicious peacocks?

Again Tigress sighed, then nodded, "I suppose we are headed for the Sanctuary then?", she said in more of a statement.

Viper nodded as well, "Yes. And there we are to wait for five more days, according to Crane."

"And then?", whispered the tiger, a quizzical look on her face. Though a brother he was to her, predictable Crane was not when it came to strategies. And no matter the logical she always found his abilities annoying yet fascinating at the same time.

"And then we're to go to Gongmen City unless reinforcements show up…if he's…", she choked out the last word silently and swallowed a lump in her throat before averting her eyes.

Tigress nodded and slowly drank the rest of her tea, all the while Viper hummed to the sheep a lullaby that put the reptile herself to sleep. The tiger softly got out of her bed and slid out of the tent to examine their surroundings. It was almost morning by now. She looked up at the distant mountain that was absolutely drenched in fog; the sunrise brightly simmered from the floor of the cliff that stood between her and that last resort place Master Oogway had decided to use in situations like this. Her yellow and amber eyes glared in disdain at the speck of a castle on the mountain.

That horrid castle. That one last place for Kung Fu if anything should happen to the Jade Palace; the last stand as it were for Kung Fu masters threatened by persecution. An odd name that was to somehow cast fear into the hearts of evil…

Ragnarock Cave.

And with a depressive state at which a tiger brood, a jovial one rose in the peacock of machinery.

"Are you comfortable little lamb?" laughed Shen in amusement at his new prey. The sheep had been chained to great weight even larger than the Dragon Warrior himself. There was no escape. Master Sheep glared at Shen whilst struggling in his restraints on the floor of the Hall of Heroes, "Tell me where your friends have gone and perhaps I will end your life swiftly."

"You will never get away with this, you unnatural freak! Kung Fu will forever reign!", he spat. Shen, who stood a few feet away with his blade drawn, walked closer.

"Oh do not worry, I enjoy the slow, torturous deaths the most. So keep talking lamb! Lest you taste the hasty tongue of my blade!", hissed Lord Shen with his dagger at Master Sheep's throat as he lowered down to his prey's height to look more menacing.

Master Sheep smirked at the easily angered peacock, "You do not have the guts, Shen. You have never killed anyone. I heard the rumors, you merely commanded the slaughterings of the panda innocents. You cannot kill. Mommy and Daddy raised you better than that!", finished Master Sheep with a mocking tone.

Shen's eye twitched at mention of his parents, and straightened up to his full height, "You insolent little-", he swung his dagger downward to cleave the cranium before it, but the sickening smack never came. Instead came a clanging. Shen looked to his left to see a bloody and bruised Fuhai standing beside the feuding with his own dagger out to counter Shen's.

"Shen, this is no time to play. Gather the wolves. It is time to end this before it gets out of hand.", stated the gray one as he withdrew his now no longer needed blade once Shen lowered his own nonthreateningly.

"Finally!", cackled Shen, "Time to take our revenge, my wolves!", exclaimed Shen to his generals that stood at the ready close by to guard the peacock. At their master's words, they chuckled in dark satisfaction. But it was soon doused from the other people's voice.

"Do not forget who commands this army as of now! The true battle has only begun! And you are not fit to rule such a high number of men into battle with a feeble mind such as yours.", said Fuhai coldly.

Shen, gripped his dagger with newfound vigor, yet remained calm. He smiled a small smile and nodded once in a small bow, "I understand, uncle. Without you I would be all but alive."

Fuhai accepted this bow and turned his back to begin torturing the sheep. Shen walked towards the open doors of the Hall of Heroes to peer out at the full view of the Valley of Peace below. Shen smiled again in a more devious fashion as his gaze fell upon the distant villages.

"Yes uncle…", he muttered under his breath as the screams of the sheep echoed throughout the Hall, "So many wolves at your command…"


	11. Chapter 11

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have returned. Yes, it has been a while. My absence was in part because of my training day in and day out. One of you knows why, and I thank him for respecting my privacy in this matter. The other part no one knows about. I have had severe family troubles, the most notable of which being a family member suing another family member. If you ask for more details, I will tell you in private messages. But my business is my own and I do not want the entire world to know. That being said, in my absence I have also taken the time to reexamine my actions and the consequences of those actions. I may never truly trust anyone, but that is no excuse for becoming overly critical. Though some may have deserved it, I know of a few who did not. One in particular asked me if I was a Christian. And I said that it was none of his business. This was wrong on my part. Yes, I am a Christian/Buddhist; Christian faith with a Buddhist lifestyle. I will also add a few things about myself in part of this apology, for many that I have lashed out at simply wished to know more about me. I am twenty three years old. I live in Tennessee, but I was not born here and do not have a Southern drawl. I plan on leaving as soon as financially possible for California to study Filmmaking at New York Film Academy- Hollywood chapter. An obvious fact most should know is that I am a filmmaker, no matter how much fame I lack. The description of my Original Character, Koru Oken, is an accurate description of myself by height, body style, and personality. Even the situation with Yunwei before the group left the Fubuki Mountains was true to a point. And lastly I will reveal that I am a Kung Fu practitioner who studies Hung Kuen, also known as Hung Ga, Hung Gar, or Tiger Style Kung Fu and pray to find a Shifu to teach me in Hollywood. Finally to end this little rant, I will finish by saying that the final part of this apology is particularly for my readers, if any of you are still out there. I will be releasing an update for most of the stories I have this day. Please enjoy and review if you wish. But above all…show respect for the authors you read of, if they are worth their salt.**

CH. 11: The Rock Upon Which I Lay

_A beautifully shining day warmed the mountains and every inch of ground upon them. The flowers had long before opened up to enjoy the sun's rays after a cold and rejecting night, and each silent bug and singing bird created a lively scenery for the master who surveyed the day as a good time to take a stroll with his adoptive daughter. The red panda limped somehow gracefully without a shred of dignity leaving him with each step by hobbled step. He cast his half lidded eyes into laying rocks, lush green grasses, adorning flowers and proudly standing bamboo trees. A smile hid behind his stoic face from the demeanor of the cub behind him._

_Little Tigress, who had turned eight years old just a few months ago, was walking a few feet behind her master and greatly enjoying the view of the mountains around them. She was just beginning to get used to living her life in the Jade Palace and Shifu had apparently decided to show her the rest of the land beyond the Pool of Sacred Tears. The move to the Palace was a harsh but welcome change from that horrible orphanage. She would get to eat three meals a day, she had a welcome bedroom that she was not confined to, and she actually got to run around the courtyard during her breaks! She even had a brother! Well, sort of. Crane was a nice person in Tigress' eyes, but he was a lot like Shifu. Always studying, always quiet. But he still took a little time out of his day to give Tigress a little advice, which was a lot more constructive than the scolding she was usually given by Master Shifu._

_But Shifu was a good mentor to her, if not a good father. Which come to think of it Tigress really had no real father figure to compare the red panda to, aside from Grandmaster Oogway. But the old turtle hadn't really paid much attention to her, not so far at least._

_Nevertheless, life at the Jade Palace was wonderful by comparison. Word from the wise staff was that as one of the protectors of China, she was basically royalty now. And with such a beautiful life came a heavy burden. At first, Tigress did not understand what they meant. Shifu said that he would teach her to use her strength to protect others, but protecting China? She was so small, and the land was so big. How could the cub possibly cover so much ground?_

_Then Master Shifu began to not only teach her in the ways of Kung Fu, but in life as well. The great balance of living things and how we all must adhere to political peace and polite mannerisms to get along together was a strict study these days; the beginning of her studies in the first few of the One Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu proved it. But then he taught her about death and chaos and the agents it spawned. The bandits, thieves, murderers, and warmongers were the specialties on the list._

_So now they strolled in a bitter sweet hour; late morning by Tigress' account after the three hour morning ritual of waking up at six o' clock and training until nine. The master and pupil eventually found themselves passing the small forests and miniature fields to come around the bend of the mountain they traversed; more so a large boulder that looked like the top of the mountain blocking their view of the path ahead. Though the path ahead, Tigress took mental note of, was more civilized than the paths beforehand. The length of level yet steadily rising ground that wrapped itself around the wall of the mountain seemed to have been carved into stairs. Even more peculiar, the top of each step was covered in grass while the front was completely bare and brown. It was almost as if some magical mountain spirit had blessed the ground to recently pull up from the rest of it's collective mass._

_Now Tigress was trying to keep herself from passing her master since currently the red panda had to climb each step incredibly slow with his short stature and chronically pained leg; his tiny iron flute that he used as a cane barely helped at all. Now the little feline was getting anxious. Just around this bend was apparently their destination. Each lesson Shifu taught her about Kung Fu history, she soaked it up like water to a sponge. Even if she did not enjoy it, which by now she was learning to love the concept that is Kung Fu, she had to learn as much as she could. Tigress would never ever disobey or dishonor her master for what he did for her by adopting Tigress and taking the cub away from the abusive place._

_Shifu could sense the growing tension Tigress was holding, and almost smiled at just how excited she was. But with only a few miniscule years separating him from the destructive night that was Tai Lung's fall into madness and hatred, Shifu kept his emotions in check; he would not fail Tigress in the way he failed Tai Lung._

_By the time they reached the tenth step, Tigress was having a panic attack. She could see the pinnacle just a few hundred feet in the distance; the top of the mountain that held the building Shifu told her about. And now she was stretching on the very tips of her toes after every step and leaning to her left as much as possible to see over the red panda and look around the wall of the large boulder they were passing._

"_Master Shifu, could-! Does anyone still live up here? I really wanna meet them!" exclaimed the cub._

"_Only the Spirit of the Jade Palace, Tigress; the rest of his kind have moved on from this life and are now in the land of the dead. Or as they called it…Valhalla." said Shifu. He finally made it to the top and an excited tiger quickly went to his side, smiling under her almost frown at the stone gray building carved out of the side of the mountain top on the other side of a long stone bridge "And it is pronounced 'want to'."_

"_Yes, Master Shifu." recited Tigress in a slightly more deadpanned voice as they continued on. All four feet slowly walked towards the stone bridge. Shifu appeared calm and collected as if they were about to walk into a shop. Tigress however allowed fear and uncertainty to cloud her already still budding courageous heart. The castle itself was not what she feared, but this bridge; it was only a few feet wide and held no railings whatsoever. What's worse, the view down was not exactly a small hop to the ground. Peering over the edge with almost shaking legs, Tigress could not distinguish between the brown homes of one of the mountain villages below or the green trees surrounding it._

"_Come now Tigress, this is no time to be fearful. We still have to finish up your lesson and get back to the Jade Palace before lunch is served." said the harsh Shifu who continued on without Tigress and without looking back. Tigress, who had previously been standing rigid on the edge looking down, quickly turned her head towards her master and tried her best to summon as much courage as she could; the little cub ran as fast as possible, even passing the red panda in the process, and leapt to the other side of the bridge where the stone double doors stood open to show nothing but a wall of darkness inside._

_The panting Tigress stared at the darkness with her feline vision, and tried to allow her eyes to adjust. But she could only see the vague outlines of stairs and wall formations, and…a body hanging from the ceiling!_

_Just as Tigress gasped in a lungful of air to scream, Shifu lifted his paw in passing her to shut her jaw and walked into the darkness without so much as a word._

_Tigress leered her ears back as far as they could go and followed to keep her vision on Shifu so that she would not lose sight of him._

"You okay?" asked a voice.

"Huh?" Tigress snapped out of her daze and looked to her right to see the yew from before on the edge of Tigress' tent with the tent flaps open. She was lying on her stomach and drawing while Tigress walked alongside the carriage, but now she was staring at Tigress and seemed concerned.

"Are you okay? You had this weird depressed look on your face." said the small sheep as she put down her blue coloring utensil and picked up a yellow one without looking away from Tigress.

"I am fine, Nagi. But thank you." said Tigress with no voice louder than a whisper to keep her throat stitches from opening up again.

"Mkay…" said Nagi as she looked back at her drawings. She had drawn one picture of a big blue monster with brown horns all over his face. On another she drew a crude picture of the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior in cool poses. Right now she was working on the six warriors fighting the monster "You know…" Tigress glanced at the girl, but kept her eyes straight ahead to the path "Daddy is always really protective of me. Mommy is too, but not so much. I think if daddy wasn't like he is, then mommy wouldn't make me stay by her side all the time. I bet daddy is really worried about me right now. But he hasta learn that I'm safe cus I'm with Master Tigress."

Tigress actually smiled a little from this statement.

"While your parents know what is best for you, you are right. I will not let you down." said the low talking tiger. A few minutes flew by without a word between them, but it seemed like only a few seconds before Nagi spoke again.

"Does anybody live at the place we're going to?"

Tigress took a full second to look at the girl this time, but continued to stare ahead right afterwards.

"Not exactly, Nagi. But you will be safe there; rest assured."

"How long will we be there?" asked the yew.

"Almost a week." replied Tigress.

"Will the Dragon Warrior be there to help us?"

Just as Tigress opened her mouth, Monkey swung down between the two from the roof of the carriage while hanging from his tail.

"Okay, let's give Master Tigress the chance to rest her voice." he said ruffling the fur on top of Nagi's head. Nagi squinted her eyes and pouted.

"Alright…" said Nagi before focusing completely on her drawings.

Tigress smirked at the pouting child, but it faded when she continued to invade the catalyst of her most horrific memories.

"_That is where it all began…"_

"So- wait, you knew Shen's mother? Don't you think that'dve been a little fact to mention, I dunno, from the beginning!" yelled Po in not so silent frustration.

"The Master's Council were placed in the stewardship of Gongmen City for a reason, Po. Of course we knew Te. It was to repay her for what her family had done." stated Shifu while the two rested by walking through the paths taken by the villagers just hours ago. They would find evidence to suggest this by a footprint here, or a piece of trash there. So in their rest they erased the evidence to raise the chances of the wolves not finding them "It was long ago, before Shen had been born; even before I came to the Palace. Te's family were the stewards of the castle that we keep as the refuge for Kung Fu, even if the Palace has been compromised."

"But why would you even think the Palace _could_ be compromised? And who were they housesitting for if they were just stewards?" asked Po as he tried to regain some composure by scrubbing out a footprint in the dirt between two trickling streams that echoed into one small waterfall later down the cliff.

"Because China's enemies have not always been of the same part of this world, Po; some were from the same area of the world as the Jade Spirit. And these enemies had no rules; no quarter, no survivors. Everything was murder, rape, pillage and destroy. They called themselves the Berserkers. And they came to China to murder the few of their kind that wished for peace." Shifu and Po continued their conversation, but at a hastier pace when they saw the smoke of torches mixing with the light of the morning sky; the wolves were getting close.

"Berserkers? What's that mean?"

"They are warriors that show no restraint. Victims are those not of their kind, and they see no difference between defending their land and killing every citizen in every other country aside from their own." stated Shifu.

"Don't tell me we'll be having to deal with those guys, too! I mean a Kung Fu war sounds awesome, but I don't know how much I can take!" said the seemingly exausted panda.

"No, Oogway and the Furious Five of that generation drove them out long ago to protect the peaceful Berserkers that were living in the castle. But it came at a price." said Shifu, his voice deadly serious.

"The Furious Five died?" asked Po "Oh! Or did the Jade Spirit make some kinda ink bomb thing that wiped out the whole village, taking out the Berserkers?" Shifu's eye twitched "Oh! Oh! Oh! I bet Master Oogway kicked their butts, but they killed him at the second of their defeat-oh wait, that doesn't make sense…"

"Focus, Po!" snapped the red panda that just ran out of patience. Shifu ran faster, making Po heave to catch up. When Shifu was satisfied that the panda had suffered enough, he slowed his own pace to relieve his student "Now when the peaceful Berserkers came here and built Ragnarok Cave, they did so in such secret, not even Oogway knew of it's location; though he had suspected as much when they traversed passed the Pool of Sacred Tears and did not return for days on end."

Po nodded to show that he was listening, but kept his eyes on the invisible road ahead in search of the refugees.

"But though they built the castle in secret, they could not hide the rumors of their travels from where villagers had seen them in such strange clothing; the Berserkers found them soon after the castle was finished.

They destroyed everything: men, women, children, crops, homes; in time they grew so destructive that Oogway almost went off by himself to destroy the army."

"Whoa! That woulda been so cool!" yelled Po.

"Yes, but it would only breed more destruction. Oogway had to take another action."

"What action?"

"Once word came from the messengers that the army would be upon us in only days, Oogway immediately evacuated the Valley. Regrettably, some of the villagers that knew Kung Fu decided to stay behind; it was a bloodbath." Shifu shook his head in sadness.

"Then…what happened?" panted Po, the panda with stitches for lungs.

"The army laid siege to the Palace, and they broke through. Thankfully they thought the Palace beautiful enough to keep it intact and steal everything after the betrayers were slaughtered. So they pressed on; searching high and low for anyone to kill. But they found no one…until they ascended up the hills."

"Oh man! I bet Oogway set up an awesome trap for them, didn't he!"

"Awesome…and terrible at the same time." sighed Shifu "Oogway found that, while he and the Five were powerful, they could not deplete the army by traditional means. There were thousands of them. And not even Oogway was so powerful as to defeat so many a man as this."

"What did he…do?" Po said, looking at Shifu completely now.

"One of the Furious Five of that generation, an ox named Chi Mei, was a notorious thief before he came to the Jade Palace. He left his life of crime when Oogway took him under his wing, but the man kept a few things he stole. One item in particular was-"

"Was what?"

"I will tell you later; we have finally caught up." said Shifu in a smile. The two began to slow down as villager after villager stopped when they passed. Cheers soon started from the entire crowd, and after a minute, they saw Tigress' travel tent.

"Tigress!" yelled Po.

The tiger, who had been oblivious from her own thoughts, was interrupted by a snake poking her shoulder. She looked up at Viper, who smiled and pointed down the path in the direction towards the Jade Palace. She turned. She saw. She smiled.

"Po!" she said in an almost normal volume level. Tigress ignored the urge to flinch in pain, and was soon met with a great, big, warm, fuzzy, comforting bear hug. And it took all of her self-control not to purr.

The two pulled each other into a soft, longing kiss that lasted for only seconds before they broke apart.

"I missed you so much!" the panda pulled away from her, but kept ahold of her shoulders to look her over "Are you okay? Did Fuhai hurt you again? I swear I'll rip that bastard in half!" the two looked at the top of the tent when they heard Viper clear her throat.

"Kids around, guys…" sang the snake that slithered across the cloth roof. Below were three sheep with the mother holding her hooves over Nagi's ears. The father was currently shooting daggers at the panda.

Po cringed, but soon looked back at Tigress when she gently smacked him in the head.

"Hey. The next time you decide to go off on a suicide mission? Do not even think about it." she turned to walk away, but turned around again and poked him in the chest "And then you apologize for even thinking about not thinking about it." the feline turned back around again to walk passed the carriage and twirling her finger at Monkey, who soon got the message.

"Alright people, move on! We've got a few miles left to go!" shouted the primate before everyone started the previous pace.

Po stood there in the spot where Tigress left him and rubbing the spot she poked him in, feeling a little confused and a lot worried. Shifu came to his side and patted him on the arm with a smile. Po looked down at him, but returned his head's previous position to watch Tigress walk away.

"She stays hurt easily, Po. But the time to be concerned is not when she lashes out; it is when she says nothing at all." stated the Grandmaster that continued on to find Mantis to rid himself of these infernal cuffs.

Po soon followed, but not without mumbling something about always being mad.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: The epic battle awaits! Will anyone survive? What did Oogway have to accomplish in order to fend off the Berserkers? Does it have any relevance now? What connection did the Jade Spirit give to Po in regards to Tigress' safety? And finally, will the Ragnarok Cave really be able to save Kung Fu? Read the next chapter to find out!**


End file.
